Experience This! Travel Industry Insights and Opinions – Details, episodes & analysis

Join Christian and Bruce as we learn about Mindtrip, one of the hottest AI startups in travel. With a recent raise of $12M bringing their total funding so far to $20M, the group of 12 founders have experience from companies including Google, Apple, LinkedIn, ShopStyle, Roadster, Ariba. They're new to the travel industry and very confident they can duplicate their past successes. 

We have to admit, what they're working on has great potential and we love their approach of putting the traveler in the center of everything.

They are specifically and definitely NOT a Trip Planner. Here's how they describe Mindtrip: "the most personalized way to discover, plan and organize any adventure — aound the world or in your own backyard."

Add to that, it has built-in group chat which is a definite difference maker and  automated travel organization software (like Tripit for example). 

This is a company to watch for sure, we had a great show with Andy.

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

The god-father of tours and activities, Rod Cuthbert, joined Experience This! hosts Lori Timony, Bruce Rosard and Christian Watts on the most recent Experience This! Travel show. What a pleasure to share stories with "the man, the myth, the legend"! Rod shared his amazing founding story and how Viator was created as a spinoff from a failed Sabre Corporation project (good thing for Rod). He gave a lot of credit to Dominique Exmann who pioneered the rollout of Viator-branded, exclusive 'Skip the Line' access and VIP experiences at iconic sites including Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum) Vatican City State Colosseum, Eiffel Tower and more that led to their leadership position in the market, and the acquisition by Tripadvisor (and compared that to what GetYourGuide and Klook are doing to catch up by raising almost $1B each!

We discussed open marketplaces (like the current Viator) compared to curated sites like Civitatis and Headout. We talked about bootstrapping compared to seeking VC funding and Rod's really interesting comment about the value of having professional investors and the experience they bring. Of course he mentioned our mutual mentor and good friend, the late, great, Philip Wolf, founder of Phocuswright, one of the most innovative thought leaders on the intersection of travel and the internet from the early '90s, and the impact he sees with our creation of Arival. 

Fascinating show, thanks Rod!

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

Meredith Rangel of Bookable Tourism joins us to discuss innovation in the Travel Industry. Is the industry lagging behind. Are some sectors ahead of others? Is the market too fragmented to create the right conditions for innovation?

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

Joined by Stephen Oddo from Walks (subsidiary of Hornblower Group), we discuss the latest updates with the Hornblower Chapter 11, the shake-up at the top of Rezdy & the Fareharbor connection, and rumors from Tripadvisor / Viator. This is a show not to be missed.

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

Who knows more than Gen AI for Experiences than our co-host Christian Watts?  We say "nobody"!

This show covers Christian's Year One overview and his prediction of what the top 6 topics for Gen AI will be for experiences as we enter "Year 2" of Gen AI.

Here's a source for writing prompts that we mentioned on the show:
beta.openai.com

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

If you are looking for a mini masterclass in Brand Marketing, you have come to the right place.  Catherine Warrilow, Director of Brand Strategy for The Plot, joins Bruce Rosard and Lori Timony in an "all you need to know about Brand Marketing in 45 minutes" discussion.     This show is especially important for those smaller businesses that are unsure how to think about their brand and why they should.  Follow that with actionable advice that Catherine freely provides.

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

Bruce's annual review of top trends for in-destination experiences with critiques from co-hosts Christian Watts and Lori Timony.

Bruce's list includes the most important things for the in-destination experiences industry to be paying attention to.

Here's an article Bruce wrote on these top trends going into 2024. 

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

AI tour guides vs human tour guides.

Obviously, AI tour guides have more information and facts. 
Clearly, AI tour guides can create better stories, as long as you don't need them to be true.
I'd still bet on the human though.

But there's a hybrid approach, where the AI (in this case a character - Miss Moneypenny) enhances a currently operating experience.

Is this the way forward?

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

Uncover extraordinary experiences with Claus Raasted, founder of the College of Extraordinary Experiences! Explore immersive learning, bringing people together organically, radical innovation, and the future of the experiences industry.

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.

Christian, Bruce and Lori discuss the current and future state of experiences.  What's a pop up experience and what about sports, dining, concerts?   Are consumers still just buying the traditional products or is there a whole new world out there?

Show videos are posted on YouTube, subscribe and Like!

Comments and discussions on the Experience This! LinkedIn Page (Follow us and Discuss!)

Podcasts available wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify, Apple, etc. - Subscribe and rate the shows.