To paraphrase Lenin (Vladimir, not John), “there are decades where nothing happens, and then there is NDC”. For those of us who have worked in travel tech for more than a few years, it may feel like decades are suddenly happening in months, if not weeks.

And it’s not just technology innovations like NDC and AI that are shaking things up. The pandemic gave many companies breathing room to experiment with new commercial models that give their businesses more solid footing to ride out unexpected economic dislocations like Covid, as well as more evolutionary changes to the industry.

The agency model in particular (both corporate and leisure) is facing disruption from multiple angles. Suppliers are testing social commerce channels and moving budgets away from traditional paid advertising like Google and metasearch players. Loyalty programs are shifting from usage-based points earn to spend-based status tiers. Subscription models and membership programs are gaining traction in surprising new corners.

What does all this turbulence mean for the traditional supplier, agency and distribution ecosystems, not to mention ad-based models like metasearch and Google that have dominated budgets? What will the travel world look like once these new commercial models take hold, and who will be the winners and losers?

We’ll talk to two experts who weigh in on some meaty topics:

•  NDC to the rescue?
•  The future of the GDS…is there one?
•  The next gen distribution model: lower costs, higher prices, more value
•  Subscription v. transaction models
•  The impact of AI on new commercial models: packaging, personalization, ancillaries and service
•  The emergence of social commerce channels and new types of travel sellers: is this the end of the OTA as we know it?

Follows:

Gilad Berenstein - host

Cara Whitehill - host

Jeff Klee - guest

Alice Ferrari - guest

Go Deeper:

ASTA continues public fight with American Airlines - TravelWeekly

For Amex GBT, NDC Takes A Village And 162 Items To Solve - The Beat [$]

CitizenM Looks for Emotional Connections Through Fledgling Subscription Model - Skift

Influencers and Social Commerce in Travel - PhocusWire

Tripadvisor Plus Is Case Study in Online Travel Hype - Skift

How Influencer Content is Reaping Rewards for Travel Companies - PhocusWire