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Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2013

Thursday 23 and Friday 24 May 2013
London

Paul Richer of Genesys is co.chairing this event. With a combination of an unrivalled speaker line-up, high quality travel industry case studies and ample time for networking, EyeforTravel's Travel Distribution Summit Europe is the No.1 meeting place for senior online travel professionals. Attend this 2 day summit to achieve 2 critical goals -

1) Create the strategy, tools and contacts you need to attract and keep existing customers

2) Understand how your travel customer's behaviour is changing and how you can meet their ever-increasing demands

Click here to visit Eyefortravel's website for details of the conference.

Take Flight!

Tuesday 11 June 2013
London

Paul Richer of Genesys has organised this event for Travel Technology Initiative. In 2010, Google sent shockwaves through the travel industry by acquiring flight distribution technology specialist, ITA Software. The company’s technology powers Google Flight Search which, as with all Google features, is astonishingly simple and fast to use. More recently, the International Air Transport Association has launched its New Distribution Capability (NDC). However, as such a standard would allow travel agents and airlines to message directly with each other, is NDC set to challenge the flight distribution dominance of the global distribution systems? Clearly, there is turmoil surrounding the whole issue of access to flight inventory. In response to this, TTI has assembled an authoritative group of speakers who will give their expert views on what is needed by airlines & travel management companies and who might be the winners and the losers as the latest technological developments take hold. Attend this forum and find out for yourself whether or not you should Take Flight!

Speaking at the Forum are:

• Massimo Morin, Head of Technical Sales, EMEA & APAC Travel, Google
• Rob Wortham, Joint CEO, RWA Ltd
• Katherine Cook,Director & General Manager UK, Egencia
• Jerry Foran, Head of Product Delivery, Revenue Management, British Airway
• Simon Ferguson, Managing Director - UK and Ireland, Travelport

Click here to visit TTI's website to download the Forum leaflet and register for the event.

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Arabian Travel Market Seminars 2013

Paul Richer of Genesys organised two technology seminars at Arabian Travel Market. These events were free to attend with top class speakers providing some fantastic insights into how to make the best use of technology.

The two seminars in which Genesys was involved were:

- Travel and Technology - Latest Trends
- Being Sociable

You can view speakers' presentations just by clicking on their names below.

Travel and Technology - Latest Trends

At this seminar we learnt about the latest consumer and travel technology trends that will be affecting you and your customers. The entire travel and tourism industry is driven by its technology. Global distribution systems, CRSs, the web, mobile, social media and more all come together to create a complex technological infrastructure. Consumers find out about our products and make that all important purchase via the same infrastructure. But today’s latest device might be tomorrow’s dinosaur. A system that has served your organisation for years might be in danger of becoming hopelessly outdated. Whatever the tech - social media, mobile, travel systems – you cannot afford to get left behind.

Speaker:
Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy

Being Sociable

In this seminar we heard how social media and mobile are being harnessed by travel companies to drive more sales, improve customer services and strengthen your brand. From the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to blogs and customer reviews, we heard from the experts who can tell you what you should be doing on these important customer communication channels.

Speakers:
Dan Cross, Territory Manager MEA, TripAdvisor
Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, Managing Partner International, T2 Impact
Ruth Haffenden, Social Media Account Director, Four Communications

Let's Get Personal

Tuesday 12 March 2013
London

Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. Before the internet era, the best travel agents were already practising social media, they just didn’t know it. They would talk to their customers, understand the kind of holidays they preferred and make personalised offers. After the holiday had been taken they would be interested to hear about it and learn from the feedback. They had personal relationships with their customers.

This time intensive approach has given way to social media and customer relationship management, facilitating one to one marketing on a large scale. We are living through a social commerce revolution and those companies that are not harnessing the tools and disciplines are losing out.

With this in mind, TTI assembled a grouping of top-rate speakers who delivered the low-down on how they are managing social media, which channels you should be focusing on, how to yield results from one to one marketing and what the future holds for social commerce. Click on speakers names below to view their presentations:

• William Beckler, Head of Innovation, lastminute.com (no presentation to download)
• Neasa Costin, Global Marketing Solutions | Travel, Facebook
• John McQuillan, President, OpenJaw Technologies
• Jo Marshall, Regional Account Manager - Technology & Online Travel, World Travel Market
• Debbie Hindle, Managing Director, Four bgb
• Rob Granville, Director, Little Voice Media
• Pleasance Coddington, Global Content & Social Media Manager, Cheapflights
• Fleur Hicks-Duarte, Head of Ecommerce, Holiday Taxis
• Michael Collins, Marketing and Data Strategist, Travelosophy
• Ewan Macleod, Founder and Editor, Mobile Industry Review
• Ana Laborde, Sales and Marketing Director, Guiomatic

Click here to view the conference leaflet with details of the agenda

WTM Travel Innovation Summit In Association With Travel Technology Initiative And Opentravel

At this summit we heard from the leading lights of the travel industry as well as new entrants with innovative business models. They gave their take on the very latest developments in travel that will affect all of us now and in the near future. Innovation is the lifeblood of travel. From the first travel agents in the 19th century to the soon to be realised expectation of space tourism, the industry has continued to innovate. At the forefront of the deployment of technology in the travel industry are Travel Technology Initiative and OpenTravel. The two organisations have teamed up with World Travel Market, organising this Summit to throw a spotlight on innovation.

Programme

Innovating in Travel

The travel industry thrives on innovation. The never-ending process of launching new products and new ways of selling them create a continually vibrant travel marketplace. In this session, three of the industry's top innovators spoke about their experiences and gave their thoughts on innovation in travel.

• Charles Ehredt, Head of Venture Farm & Innovation, Odigeo
• Richard Lewis, CEO, Interchange & Consort Hotels, Best Western Hotels, Beacon Purchasing (Presentation is not available.)

Maps & Money

In this session, two vital aspects of the world of travel were examined. Mapping and payments continue to be the subjects of great innovation, effecting every travel company. There have been great strides in the way payments are handled, keeping pace with the progress of the online world. Advances in mapping have revolutionised the way in which travellers are able to plan their trips.

• Vikas Arora, Solution Sales Professional, Bing Maps (Microsoft)
• Peter Wickes, Vice President Business Development, UK and EMEA, WorldPay

A Glimpse of the Future

Representatives from three of the world's most innovative organisations gave us a view of future technology and online developments. BT has been responsible for trail-blazing inventions such as the LED, Google is now a byword for innovation and FACT-Finder Travel leads the way in semantic search.

• Carsten Kraus, Founder & CEO, FACT-Finder
• Dr. Nicola Millard, Customer Experience Futurologist, BT
• Stephany van Willigenburg, Industry Manager, New Products & Solutions, Google

World Travel Market Technology and Online Travel Seminar Programme 2012

Tuesday 6 November
World Travel Market, Platinum Suite 1

This year Paul Richer of Genesys once again organised the Technology and Online Travel seminar programme at World Travel Market. All these events were free to attend with top class speakers providing some fantastic insights into how to make the best use of technology.

Search Engine Update 2012

In this seminar we heard about the latest developments from those who are really in the know. Even with the fast-growing popularity of social media, the search engines continue to be the primary influence on the success or otherwise of all travel businesses. It is vital to get your search engine strategy working well for your business whether this is based on going for top-ranking in organic search listings or deploying a search engine marketing budget that hits the keywords with the highest return on investment. For your own travel website, new innovations such as semantic natural language search and product data optimisation are making much easier for your customers to quickly find the products they want to book.

Click here to view the video.

• Carsten Kraus, Founder & CEO, Data Quality GmbH / FACT-Finder Travel
• Nate Bucholz, Industry Head of Travel, Google UK (Presentation is not available.)
• Andrew Jones, Head of Search Account Management, Yahoo! UK

Content Converts

This seminar told us about the latest advances in content that converts website visitors to customers. It is now possible for travel companies to give their customers the ability to create custom travel guides, personalised to their own tastes and interests With broadband now widespread and 4G mobile launching across the world, video content is becoming the norm. It is now possible to embed menuing systems in videos to provide a seamless viewing experience. Mapping continues to develop, allowing travellers to see their destinations and learn their way around before arriving. Attend this seminar and hear about these latest developments.

Click here to view the video.

• Ana Laborde, Founder and Director of Sales & Marketing, Guiomatic Travel Technologies
• Vikas Arora, Solutuions Specialist, Bing Maps (Microsoft)
• Robert Granville, Managing Partner, LittleVoice

Social Media Master Class

In this session, we heard from those with the experience to give you a real insight into succeeding on this important channel. Many travel organisations are now finding that social media is not just a fantastic customer service channel but is also driving a significant proportion of sales. This is not straightforward to achieve but requires dedication and effort, correctly focused towards meeting your business objectives. Does your organisation have a social media strategy? If so, is it working to your satisfaction?

Click here to view the video.

• Debbie Hindle, Managing Director, FourBGB
• Nick Stafford, General Manager, Living Social Escapes, Europe
• Ben Jost, Chief Executive Officer, TrustYou (Presentation is not available.)

Going Mobile

We heard from those who already have the hard-won experience about how to profit from going mobile.As PC sales fall, smartphone sales continue to rocket with Android handsets now taking the lion's share. The PC has entered a period of decline, netbooks are dead and it appears that mobile computing is the future. Is mobile working for your organisation or are you in danger of being left behind? Is the time now right to invest in this channel or is it still a viable option just to rely on the web?

Click here to view the video.

• Ewan Macleod, Founder and Editor of Mobile Industry Review, Mobile Industry Review
• David Slocombe, Head of Mobile, lastminute.com. (Presentation is not available.)/li>
• Jason Bryant, Co-Founder, President and COO, Nor1, Inc.
• Stefan Rust, CEO, Exicon Ltd

Latest Tech Trends

In this seminar we learnt about the latest consumer and travel technology trends that will be affecting you and your customers. The entire travel and tourism industry is driven by its technology. Global distribution systems, CRSs, the web, mobile, social media and more all come together to create a complex technological infrastructure. The travel industry communicates and shares product through this. Consumers find out about our products and make that all important purchase via the same infrastructure. But technology changes fast. Today's latest device might be tomorrow's dinosaur. A system that has served your organisation for years might be in danger of becoming hopelessly outdated. Whatever the tech - social media, mobile, travel systems - you cannot afford to get left behind.

Click here to view the video.the video.

• Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy

WTM presents - Optimising Hotel Distribution: Channels & Direct Bookings

Thursday 8 November
World Travel Market, Technology Presentation Theatre, 10:30 - 12:00

Hotel distribution is becoming an increasingly complex discipline. It is essential to profitability that hotels maximise the yield on their finite, perishable stock. A room that remains empty is an expensively lost business opportunity that can never be recovered. Similarly, a room that is sold through the wrong channel at a less than optimum rate results in an irrecoverably reduced profit. At this seminar we heard from four experts about how to maximise your hotel's profitability as a result of effective direct sales and an efficiently managed channel distribution strategy.

• Erik Munoz, Executive Director Sales & Marketing EMEA & Americas, SiteMinder
• Martin Soler, Marketing Director + former General Manager, WIHP
• Rupert Gutteridge, Sales and Marketing Director, Guestline
• Tim Weeks, VP Business Development, Europe, RateGain

The Future of Travel Distribution

Wednesday 12 September 2012
London

Leisure travel distribution is a fast moving discipline. Across the recent decades It has changed out of all recognition. Effective distribution has become comprehensive and complex.

At the start of the Internet era, it was thought that the Web would render the role of the travel agent and other intermediaries redundant as suppliers now had the means to reach out directly to their customers. The thinking was that this would simplify distribution, for example, allowing hotels to sell direct to the consumer via their websites.

It turns out that travel agents are still very much in the game and online travel agents have become a significant distribution channel. In fact, a new generation of distributors such as bedbanks and online aggregators have come into existence. Hotels now face incredibly complex distribution choices requiring a new genre of channel management organisations to assist them. Meanwhile, with easy to implement XML connectivity, airlines find themselves in the position that they can also be tour operators, selling accommodation alongside their flights whilst tour operators compete with their own customers who now find that they can easily make their own independent holiday arrangements and self-package.

How are established players, online travel agents and new start-ups responding to new distribution opportunities? What is happening on the web? What are the possibilities for mobile distribution? These were the topics discussed at this conference. You can view speakers' presentations by clicking on their names.

• Chris Roche, Commercial Director, Travel Republic (presentation not available
• Laurie Diffey, Group Technology Director, The Monarch Group
• Seamus MacCormaic, Senior Director Market Management, Northern Europe, Expedia & Hotels.com
• Simon Beeching, Director, Syntec Telecom
• Alfredo Ouro, Founder & CEO, Hall St
• Carsten Kraus, Chief Executive Officer, FACT-Finder Travel
• John McQuillan, Chief Executive Officer, OpenJaw Technologies
• Sergio Falletti, Director, Future Platforms
• Peter Matthews, CEO, Nucleus Ltd
• Nick Stafford, General Manager, Escapes Europe, Living Social

Click here to view the conference leaflet with details of the agenda

Arabian Travel Market Seminars 2012

This year Paul Richer of Genesys organised several of the technology seminars at Arabian Travel Market. All these events were free to attend with top class speakers providing some fantastic insights into how to make the best use of technology.

The three programmes in which Genesys was involved were:

- Winning Online
- Managing Online Reputation
- Social and mobile

You can view speakers' presentations just by clicking on their names below.

Winning Online

This seminar told delegates how to convert more website visitors to purchasing customers. Social media and mobile are the start of the customer journey, driving visitors to your website. It is vital, though, to convert these visitors into paying clients. In this seminar, we learnt about how social media and mobile are being used by consumers and how to persuade your precious visitors not to leave your website without making a purchase.

Speaker:
Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy

Managing Online Reputation

The battlefields of travel are redrawing their lines – no longer are holidays pitched against each other in travel agencies, but online. With 92% of internet users reading online reviews and 89% of consumers saying that reviews influence their purchasing decisions, there has never been a more important time for hotels and travel suppliers to efficiently manage their online reputation. But with 35% of consumers changing their choice of hotel after browsing a social media platform – what can travel providers do to ensure that they maintain a spotless reputation? How do you find out what your customers saying about you? And what can these companies do to use these reviews to their marketing advantage?

Speakers:
RJ Friedlander, CEO, ReviewPro
Hari Nair, Vice President Lodging EMEA, Expedia
Kristof Roemer, Executive Vice President, TrustYou

Social and Mobile

In this seminar we heard how social media and mobile are being harnessed by travel companies to drive more sales, improve customer services and strengthen your brand. From the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to the development of mobile apps, the world of travel is going social and mobile. Don’t miss out.

Speakers:
Debbie Hindle, Managing Director, four bgb
Giles Longhurst, Director EMEA, Frommers Unlimited
Sergio Falletti, Director, Future Platforms

Make the Most of Analytics

Tuesday 17 April 2012
London

Genesys organised this event for Travel Technology Initiative. Understanding how your business is performing is absolutely vital. Only then can one make the required decisions to steer your organisation to success. Many businesses struggle to obtain the management information they need and to produce this in a useful format. Traditionally, much time has been spent manipulating spreadsheets, creating management information databases and using report writing tools. Yet there are now powerful analytics tools available that can provide you with the vital business information that you need. Meanwhile, the online world has created a whole new requirement for analytical information. The web, mobile and social media are performing for your company for better or worse. You can leave them to their own devices or make the most of analytics to improve your return on investment to these channels. Click on a speaker's name to download their presentation.

• Barbara Pezzi, Director of Analytics & Search Optimization, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
• Douglas Gray, Chief Solutions Officer, Head of Analytics Practice, Blue Star Infotech
• Warren Lieberman, PhD Founder & President, Veritec Solutions (joint presentation with Douglas Gray
• Luke Alexander, Head of Digital, Four Communications

Optimising Digital Sales

Monday 19 March 2012
London

Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. The online world throws down the challenge of a never-ending quest. Even if your website or mobile presence is producing excellent results there is no rest. You know that a further tweak here or re-design there might further increase sales. There is no option to sit back and be satisfied. The most successful websites are run by those who are continually trying something new, always running A/B testing to see which changes provide an incremental improvement and which should be discarded.

Even though this scenario of continual tweaking and testing sounds obsessive, optimising digital sales is actually far more complex. There are so many facets that need to be taken into account. The design of one’s website is of paramount importance. Your site needs to do everything it can to keep a visitor hooked and moving forward to making a purchase. Personalisation of online marketing communications is vital. Social media now drives a significant proportion of visitors towards one’s sales channels. Effective, efficient online selling is all about the above and more. Click on a speaker's name to download their presentation.

• Elliott Pritchard, Marketing Director, Travel Republic
• Jonathan Greensted, Business Development Director, Zolv
• Gregory Linn, Director Key Account Management Hotel & Travel, Groupon
• John Howell, Managing Director, Multicom
• Alan Jaramillo, Director MICE Sales, International Sales Office, UK, NH Hoteles (Presentation not available.)
• Sam Gregory, Industry Manager - Travel, Google UK
• Giles Longhurst, Director EMEA, Frommers Unlimited
• David Smith, Founder, MiGuide
• Anthony Rawlins, Director, Digital Visitor
• Daniel Reilly, Managing Director, BlinkBooking.com (Presentation not available.)

Click here to view the conference leaflet

World Travel Market Technology and Online Travel Seminar Programme 2011

Tuesday 8 November
London

This year Paul Richer of Genesys once again organised the Technology and Online Travel seminar programme at World Travel Market. All these events were free to attend with top class speakers providing some fantastic insights into how to make the best use of technology.

We asked speakers if they would allow Genesys to make their presentations available on the web. The majority kindly agreed.

You can view speakers' presentations just by clicking on their names below.

Search Engine Update 2011

The search engines are a major influence on all our online lives. Managing your company's presence on the search engines can make the difference between commercial success and failure. It is vital to keep up to date with what is happening in the world of search.

Speakers:
Paul Hill, Sales Director, Stickyeyes
Nate Bucholz, Industry Head of Travel, Google UK
Jon Myers, Director, Account Management, Yahoo

View the video

Content Counts

Your customers are only going to buy from you or visit your destination if they find your content convincing. It is vital that your web site is engaging. It needs to provide the necessary information and compelling content to persuade travellers that you have the destination and products they need. From traveller reviews to three dimensional online interactive tourist experiences, there are a wealth of content options. So what makes for compelling content? What can you do to gain the edge over your competitors?

Speakers:
Giles Longhurst, Director EMEA, Frommers Unlimited
Terence Mak, CEO, 3rd Planet
Maud Larpent, Senior Manager, Partnerships, TripAdvisor (presentation not available)

View the video

Making the Most of Social Media

Social media is now mainstream. Every travel company should now be using Facebook, Twitter, customer reviews and other channels to build brand awareness, improve customer service and drive sales. Does your company have a social media strategy? Is it succeeding? Are you concerned you are making the effort but not reaping the rewards?

Speakers:
Jakob Riegger, Co-Founder and Managing Director, TrustYou
Debbie Hindle, Four BGB

View the video

Mobile Developments

With Gartner reporting total smartphone sales of 468 million in 2011 and Forrester predicting tablets to overtake PC sales by 2015 few could deny that mobile will be the new technology battleground and never more so than in travel - a sector with mobility at its very core. With better value fixed price mobile data, smartphones are moving from upmarket to mass market. What are the implications for the travel industry? Is the time now right for your company to implement mobile? How do you market and communicate services for a multi-screen, multi-platform world?

Speakers:
Justin Cooke, Managing Director, Fortune Cookie
David Slocombe, Head of Mobile, lastminute (presentation not available)
Chris Carmichael, Manager Technical Innovation, British Airways (presentation not available)

View the video

Online Essentials

In 2011, all the talk has been about social media and mobile. Both of these are exciting new areas of online activity. However, for many travel businesses they are not necessarily an end in their own right. Much more important, is to use these communication channels as the start of the customer journey, driving visitors to your website that can then be converted into paying clients. In this seminar, you learnt about how social media and mobile is being used in this way and how to maximise the conversion capability of your website, so that your precious visitors do not leave without making a purchase.

Speaker:
Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy

View the video

World Travel Market Hotel Distribution Summit 2011

Thursday 10 November
London

The goal of every hotel is to maximise the revenue from its limited bedstock. Yet this has become increasingly complex as more and more distribution options become available. Hoteliers can, of course, sell direct via their own websites but this means spending money on search engine marketing. Alternatively, hotels can offer contract rates to tour operators and travel agents, sign-up with accommodation wholesalers, use multi-channel distributors or channel management tools. Having a good understanding the options for hotel distribution is vital. With this in mind, World Travel Market in association with Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy held its second Hotel Distribution Summit. As with last year's successful event, this year's Summit featured sessions which brought together expert speakers who provided an inside track on the distribution opportunities available to hoteliers.

Click on speaker's names to view their presentations

Social Media in a Global Marketplace

By their very nature, hotels are inbound travel products, attracting customers from across the globe. Any social media strategies that you use will need to appeal across many languages and geographic markets. This additional complexity makes it vital that your social media campaigns are carefully planned and subsequent analysis of customer feedback is rigorous.

Speakers:
Jakob Riegger, Co-Founder and Managing Director, TrustYou
Steve Haydon, Sales & Marketing Director, Guestline
Jonathan Greensted, Business Development Director, Zolv

Channel Management in a Complex World

The distribution options available to hotels continue to increase year on year. As a result, excellent channel management has become the primary factor that can make the difference between ongoing high yields or lacklustre performance. How do you spread your finite bedstock across multiple channels? How do maintain control? How do you achieve the best rates? Attend this session and learn the answers to these pressing questions.

Speakers:
David Williams, General Manager Sales & Marketing, SiteMinder
David Guilfoyle, UKI Sales Manager, ParityRate
David B.Chestler, President, Hospitality Solutions, RateGain

Independents/Small Hotel Chains - Gaining the Advantage

Independent hotels and small hotel chains face an ongoing battle to run their businesses efficiently whilst striving to build a market presence that will keep the customers coming in. There are tools and strategies that can help in the fight to maintain profitability. In this session you will hear about the latest software solutions for hotels and how to manage your brand presence to maximum effect.

Speakers:
Guillaume de Marcillac, Chief Operating Officer, FastBooking
Vishal Alimchandani, Founder, Booker Centric
Karen Plumb, Commercial Director, EMEA, TripAdvisor

Latest Developments in Travel Technology

Tuesday 20 September 2011
London

Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. Travel is pure information at the point of sale. When a consumer purchases one of the industry’s products, it does not yet exist, it is just information sitting on one of the many computer systems that power the industry. Holidays, in particular, lend themselves to today’s modern, electronic, consumer-sales environment. As with flights and similar ‘commodity-style’ travel products, holidays have an element of bland information provision. In addition, however, they also have charismatic descriptive elements that lend themselves to the rich media distribution that is available to consumers. On the supply side, the industry is increasingly inter-connected. Each individual travel organisation can access a wide range of products that would have been beyond a travel company’s wildest dreams a couple of decades ago. As a result, it seems that everyone can sell everyone else’s products. With such significant advances, it could be assumed that technology is serving the travel industry well, but is this really so? For this conference, TTI assembled an expert group of speakers who provided an authoritative view on whether travel technology is doing a good job and where it should be heading. Click on speakers' names to download their presentations.

• Julia Lo Bue-Said, Leisure Director, Advantage Travel Centres
• Simon Powell, Founder, travel.co.uk
• Geoff Monk, Founder, Seeyourtravelagent.com
• Bobby Healy, Chief Technology Officer, CarTrawler
• Russell Gould, Managing Director, e-Strategy Consultancy
• Graham Silversides, Head of IT & Communications, Mark Warner
• Ronan Hughes, Group Chief Technology Officer, directski.com
• Roberto da Re, Chief Executive Officer, Dolphin Dynamics
• David Jones, Chairman, TigerBay Software
• Justin Cooke, Managing Director, Fortune Cookie Media

Click here to view the conference leaflet with details of the agenda.

Beyond Search

Wednesday 11 May 2011
London

Geneys organised Travel Technology Initiative's Summer Forum called Beyond Search. Reaching the consumer has become far more complex than just buying keyword advertising. Social media now has a vital role to play. Those who have successfully tapped into this customer communication channel have found that it does not only raise brand awareness but can also drive significant sales. There is also much to be achieved by sophisticated search engine optimisation.

The key differentiator between the search 'winners' and 'losers' is developing an effective integrated approach to brand engagement that brings together social media, search engine optimisation and search engine marketing into a cohesive promotional strategy . All your consumer communications now need to be aligned to a common theme so that your potential customers receive a consistent message across all touchpoints. Click on speakers names to download their presentations:

• Steve Endacott, CEO, On Holiday Group
• Surinder Phuller, eCommerce Manager London, Hilton Worldwide
• Jon Myers. Director of Account Management, Yahoo! UK & Ireland
• Paul Hill, Director, Stickyeyes

Click here to view the Forum leaflet with details of the agenda.

Arabian Travel Market Seminars 2011

Tuesday and Wednesday 3/4 May 2011
Dubai

Paul Richer of Genesys organised two seminars at Arabian Travel Market 2011. Click on speakers' names below to download their presentations.

What's new on the web? Online Update 2011 Seminar

The online world is ever-evolving. Whilst the basics of having a good web site have changed little in recent years, the online marketplace is becoming ever more sophisticated. In order to compete successfully one needs to be well aware of the developments taking place and understand what matters and what does not. Social media sites, blogs, user generated content, rich media, mobile and more are all now mainstream tools of online marketing. Last year's quirky developments may be this year's major customer channels. This seminar gave an update on what has been taking place in the last year. The speaker was:

• Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys

The importance of social media

2010 was the year in which the first few savvy travel companies realised that social media is a profitable customer communication channel. In 2011 it went mainstream as a viable online marketing and customer service tool. From the early days of blogging, social media has moved on to embrace user generated content, YouTube videos, Twitter, Facebook and more. Social media statistics are simply mind-blowing. Speaking at this seminar were the following:

• Jason Hancock, Senior Director Business Development, UK & Ireland, Travelport GDS
• Mr Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, Managing Partner, T2Impact Ltd
• Karen Plumb, Commercial Director, EMEA, TripAdvisor for Business

The Social Revolution

Thursday 24 March 2011
London

Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative.

The Social Revolution is upon us. 2010 was the year inwhich the first few savvy travel companies realised thatsocial media is a profitable customer communicationchannel. It is vital for all travel and tourismorganisations to understand how to capitalise on socialmedia.

With this in mind, TTI assembled a group of experts whotalked about their experiences of social media. Speakingwere:

• Vikki O'Neill, Marketing & Branding Manager, Giraffe (presentation not available)
• Colm Hanratty, Editor, Hostelworld.com
• Matt Rhodes, Clients Services Director, FreshNetworks
• Justin Reid, Head of Digital and Social Media, VisitBritain
• Adriana Conte, Social Media Programme Manager,VisitBritain (see above)
• Tim Gunstone, Managing Director, Eyefortravel
• Jeroen Van Velzen, CEO, The Sound of Data
• Alan Jaramillo, Key Account Manager Mice Sales, NHHotels (presentation not available)
• Anthony Rawlins, Managing Director, Digital Visitor
• Angela Fenocchi, PR and New Product DevelopmentManager, Warner Leisure Hotels (see above)

Click any of the speakers above to download pdfs oftheir presentations.

Click here to download the forum leaflet

World Travel Market Technology & Online Seminar Programme 2010

Tuesday 9 November and Wednesday 10 November 2010
Excel, London

Genesys organised the Technology & Online Seminar Programme at World Travel Market.  There were three seminars per day on the Tuesday and Wednesday.  New for this year, Genesys organised a Hotel Distribution Summit on Thursday 11th. 

Click on speaker names to view their presentations (not all presentations are available)

Tuesday 9 November

11:00 - 12:00 Online Update 2010

Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The TravelTechnology Consultancy

View the video recording of this session

The online world is ever-evolving. Whilst, the basics of having a good web site have changed little in recent years, the online marketplace is becoming ever more sophisticated. In order to compete successfully one needs to be well aware of the developments taking place and understand what matters and what does not. Social media sites, blogs, user generated content, rich media, mobile and more are all now mainstream tools of online marketing. Last year's quirky developments may be this year's major customer channels. This seminar will give you an update on what has been taking place in the last year. It will tackle the basics whilst giving you a view of the latest online developments that matter.

12:30 - 13:30 The Social Revolution
Fifi Pottier, Senior Sales Executive, WAYN.com
Martin Verdon-Roe, Head of Sales for Europe,TripAdvisor
Tim Gunstone, Managing Director, EyeforTravel

The social media revolution is upon us. However, it is not yet clear how travel companies can capitalise on newer social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, how best to use blogs and viral marketing. In this seminar, you will hear from those in the know and learn how your company can join the Social Revolution

14:00 - 15:00 Mobile Matters

Giles Colborne, Managing Director, cxpartners
Marko Balabanovic, Head of Innovation,lastminute.com

With the launch of Apple's iphone and its strategy to encourage third parties to develop applications, the world of mobile apps really took off. Apps have been the spur to increased mobile usage beyond voice calls, email and messaging. Travel companies from many sectors now see mobile as an integral part of their distribution and customer service strategies. You can no longer afford to ignore mobile. Hear how travel companies are capitalising on mobile and learn about the design techniques you need to take into account when designing apps that will work successfully across all mobile platforms.

Wednesday 10 November

11:00 - 12:00 Customers Need Content

Anthony Rawlins, Managing Director, DigitalVisitor
Giles Longhurst, Director, Frommer's Unlimited,EMEA
Sandra Leonhard, Director Web Strategy & BusinessDevelopment, TUI Travel PLC

In the online world, it is your content that sells your products. Great content can make the difference between having a really successful website or just being an also-ran. Too much and you will overwhelm your visitors.Too little and they will just go elsewhere. How do youget the balance right? What content tips and tricks doyou need to know about? What will give you the edge over your competitors? In this seminar you will hear fromcontent experts on what you need to do to deliver compelling content on your website.

12:30 - 13:30 Ask the Engines

Caroline Mastoras, Travel Category Development Manager, Bing
Tracey Cheffey, Category Director (Travel), Yahoo
Nate Bucholz, Industry Manager, Travel, Google
Paul Reilly, Head of Search, Stickyeyes

View the video recording of this session

The search engines are the dominant force driving customers to our web sites. Whether you are optimising your web site to work well within natural search listings or you are relying on pay per click advertising to drive traffic, you need to get it right. If you site is performing poorly, potential customers will be going to your competitors and your online advertising and marketing spend will just be money down the drain. For this seminar, a search marketing expert will be putting questions to the search engines and getting the answers that you need to hear.

14:00 - 15:00

Online Update 2010

Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The TravelTechnology Consultancy

View the video recording of this session

The online world is ever-evolving. Whilst, the basics of having a good web site have changed little in recent years, the online marketplace is becoming ever more sophisticated. In order to compete successfully one needs to be well aware of the developments taking place and understand what matters and what does not. Social media sites, blogs, user generated content, rich media, mobile and more are all now mainstream tools of online marketing. Last year's quirky developments may be this year's major customer channels. This seminar will give you an update on what has been taking place in the last year. It will tackle the basics whilst giving you a view of the latest online developments that matter.

World Travel Market Hotel Distribution Summit 2010

Thursday 11 November
Excel, London

Hotel distribution has become increasingly complexover recent years. Whilst the goal remains the same - tomaximise revenue -the options have increased many-fold.Hoteliers have the option to sell direct via their ownweb sites, contract with tour operators and travelagents, sign-up with channel management distributors orsimply sell over the telephone. The tracking, analysingand smart decision-making is complex.

With this in mind, World Travel Market in associationwith Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy took thedecision to inaugurate its first Hotel DistributionSummit. The Summit featured three sessions which broughttogether expert speakers who provided an inside track onthe distribution opportunities available tohoteliers.

11:00 - 12:00 Hotel Revenue & ChannelManagement Techniques

Cheryl Hawksworth, Regional Sales Manager UK and Ireland,IDeaS
David Guilfoyle, UK & Ireland Sales & MarketingManager, Parityrate
David Williams, Business Development Manager,SiteMinder

It is vitally important for hoteliers to squeeze thelast drop of profitability from their bedstock. Therevenue management required to achieve this is complexbut can bring substantial rewards. In this session youwill hear about the latest techniques in revenuemanagement and how to effectively manage the manydistribution channels that are available to hotels.

13:00 - 14:00 Latest Developments in Hotel BookingSolutions

Peter Fitzgerald, Vice President Sales for StrategicAccounts, FastBooking
Peter Healey, CEO, Vertical Group

Booking solutions for hotels have been advancing at afast rate. The traditional property management systems ofold have given way to Internet enabled solutions thatenable hotels to keep a much tighter grip on their rateswhilst easing the task of administration. If you thinkyou are being left behind, attend this seminar and hearabout the latest developments in hotel bookingsolutions.

14:30 - 15:15 Search for Success: Rank Top inGoogle and Cut Out the Middlemen

Paul Reilly, Head of Search, Stickyeyes

Every hotel has a web site but many are bitterlydisappointed with how their sites are performing. Whatought to be a profitable channel, reaching out direct tocustomers, can simply be ineffective, getting lost in thecompetitive clutter of the search engines. In thissession, Paul Reilly, Head of Search at search engineconsultancy Stickyeyes, will give you the lowdown on whatneeds to be done to raise your hotel's visibility,drive visitors to your web site and convert lookers tobookers.

Travel Innovation Summit

Tuesday 21 September 2010
London

Genesys organised Travel Technology Initiative's Autumn conference.  Travel can claim to be amongst the most innovative of industries. From the first package holidays in 1841 and the first scheduled London to Paris passenger flights in 1919 to space tourism and modern-day online dynamic packaging, travel has always been at the forefront of technological adoption.

New technology is allowing some companies to makesignificant cost savings. Others are using innovation toimprove the customer experience through personalisationand other CRM techniques. Some are using technology topower new innovative business models.

Most recently, we have seen early adopters innovating inmobile, seeking to heighten customer convenience anddeliver pertinent information. Location based services,real-time travel information and augmented reality arejust some examples of how the travel industry is takingto mobile.

The TTI Travel Innovation Summit brought together some ofthe industry's top innovators, people who are makinga real difference to how consumers interact with thetravel industry. Speaking at the Summit  were:

• Fergus Boyd, IT Innovation Manager, VirginAtlantic
• Chris Amenechi, Senior Director of Merchandising &Ancillary Revenues, Continental Airlines
• Louise Kendall, CRM Development Manager, TUI UK (presentation not available for download)
• Tom Britton, Product Manager, thetrainline.com
• Rachel Armitage, Co-founder, Zoombu
• Ciprian Morar, Director, Lateral SRL
• Frank Skivington, Vice President Commercial,Skyscanner
• Craig Dean, Managing Director, Web ApplicationsUK
• Stephen Attenborough, Commercial Director, VirginGalactic

Click any of the speakers above to download pdfs of their presentations.

Click here to download the forum leaflet

Mobile Update

Tuesday 15 June 2010
London

Genesys organised Travel Technology Initiative's Summer Forum.  It seems that mobile is finally taking off. No longer is this new channel more hype than substance. Travel companies from all sectors are finding that there is business to be won and customer services to be delivered.

Apple, with its decision to provide an open developmentplatform for iPhone applications, has been mostinstrumental in taking mobile technology beyond voice andmessaging. There are now well over 6,000 travel specificapps for the iPhone. Users are downloading these in theirmillions, providing travel companies with a new means bywhich to reach out to customers.

Clearly, if you have been ignoring mobile, yourorganisation is in danger of missing out on the benefitsof this new, exciting channel. Whether you are looking tojust strengthen branding, provide customer service orcatalyse sales, mobile is a channel that is starting todeliver.

With this in mind, TTI's Summer Forum was puttogether to give an update on how mobile is beingsuccessfully deployed by a range of different travelcompanies. Speaking at the event were:

• Chris Carmichael, Manager ba.com & Mobile Innovation, British Airways
• Marko Balabanovic, Head of Innovation,lastminute.com
• Gerry Samuels, Founder & Executive Director, MobileTravel Technologies Ltd
• Helen Unwin, Senior Online Marketing Manager, PegasusSolutions

Click here to download the forum leaflet

Click here to go to TTI's web site to view the presentations

Agents Advancing

Tuesday 27 April 2010
London

Genesys organised Travel Technology Initiative's Spring conference.  In the excitement of the online world, developments in mobile, the introduction of social media and so on, the role of the travel agent has simply not been on any conference agenda. Yet, agents are still playing a major role in advising on and selling the travel industry's products.

Current thinking is that there is still a strong role for agents to play. Technology companies have been developing new tools that have allowed agents to raise their efficiency and remain competitive whilst still providing consumers with the service they demand. New business models have seen agents growing profitably. Agency organisations and groupings have provided independent agents with support services that they could never afford to provide for themselves.

This conference examined how travel agents are evolving to remain relevant in the 21st Century. Speaking at the event were:

• John McEwan, Chairman, ABTA
• Julia Lo Bue-Said, Director, Leisure, Advantage TravelCentres
• Tim Wright, Commercial Director - UK and Ireland,Travelport
• Tim Loring, Head of Travel Agent Product Solutions,Comtec Group Ltd
• Barry Whittaker, Managing Director, Tzell UK
• Chris Roe, Sales and Distribution Director, VirginHolidays
• Mike Greenacre, Managing Director, The Co-operativeTravel
• Richard Kelly, Head of Business Development, Amadeus UKand Ireland
• Victoria Sanders, Managing Director, TeletextHolidays
• David Moesli, Deputy Director, Consumer ProtectionGroup, Civil Aviation Authority
• Chris Amenechi, Senior Director InternationalE-commerce and Distribution Planning, Continental Airlines

Click here to download the conference leaflet

Click here to go to TTI's web site to view the presentations

World Travel Market Technology Seminars 2009

Tuesday 10 November and Thursday 12 November 2009
London

Following its great success last year, once again, Genesys organised the Technology and Online Seminar Programme for World Travel Market.  There were six seminars on the Tuesday and the Thursday.  The details are below.  Pdfs of the presentations can be downloaded by clicking this link.

Tuesday 10 November

11:00 - 12:00 Online and Onsale

Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The TravelTechnology Consultancy

Being online and onsale is every travel company's goal. In order to compete you need to have a web site that is driving business and earning good revenues. However, many web sites simply do not realise their full potential. For some, what ought to be an effective sales channel falls short of what is achievable. It is vital to get the basics right. The good news is that this can be achieved without great expense by just applying some thought and consideration. In this seminar, hear how to take a critical look at your online presence and see what makes the difference between an also-ran web site and a top performer.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

12:30 - 13:30 Content Matters

Brice J Bay, Founder & CEO, 10best.com
Joel Brandon-Bravo, Chief Operating Officer, Frommers
Dave Howard, Managing Director, Trailstream

Content really matters. Visitors have come to your web site to find out about your products. They have given you the opportunity to convert them to customers. If your content is not engaging and informative, they will simply move on to your competitors and may never come back. What content counts? How can you make your content comprehensive and enticing? What makes the difference that allows your products to stand out against the competition? Hear from the experts about how to make your web site's content truly compelling.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

14:00 - 15:00 Take the Money

Sandeep Mander, Strategic Market Consultant, Cybersource
Steve Dobson, Director of Technical Development andInformation Security Officer, Anite Business Systems
David Hunter, UK CEO, Paysafecard Group (Cash-Ticket)
Mike Anderson, Managing Director, Web MarketplaceSolutions

Consumers are now so accustomed to shopping online that they have the expectation that they will be able to make a purchase online and pay for it there and then. This applies equally as much to travel products as it does to lower value items. If a payment system is not in place or is not fast and efficient then a customer may go elsewhere to do a deal. Whilst most online shoppers know that they are fully protected by their credit card companies when shopping online, the same is not true for retailers who can be susceptible to card fraud. Any travel company wishing to take online payments needs to know how best to implement this and how to protect itself against fraud. Learn about the different aspects of taking the money by attending this seminar. You will hear from those who really know the ins and outs of online payments.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

Thursday 12 November

11:00 - 12:00 Into the Future

Hugo Burge, Executive Chairman, Cheapflights and FounderHOWZAT media
Graham Cook, Vice President of Product Strategy, ExpediaEurope

It is 30 years since the very first World Travel Market.In that time, the world has changed. Travel is moreprevalent than ever. Technology has become a key successfactor. The internet is uniting the world. What of thefuture? Is further great change on the way and, if so,what form will it take? In this seminar, three topexecutives will give their views on where the future istaking us.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

12:30 - 13:30 Ask the Engines

Stephany van Willigenburg, Industry Manager, Travel, Google
Tracey Cheffey, Category Director (Travel), Yahoo!
Neil McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer, LatitudeGroup

The search engines dominate the online world. They have become the de facto method by which prospective customers reach your web site. Understanding how they work and how to get the most from them can lead to profitable ongoing business. Getting it wrong can be very expensive. In this seminar, you will hear presentations from two major search engines and an independent search engine specialist. You will then have the opportunity to ask those burning questions that are so important to you. This is a must-attend seminar for anyone concerned with having the best presence possible on the search engines.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

14:00 - 15:00 Online and Onsale

Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The TravelTechnology Consultancy

Being online and onsale is every travel company's goal. In order to compete you need to have a web site that is driving business and earning good revenues. However, many web sites simply do not realise their full potential. For some, what ought to be an effective sales channel falls short of what is achievable. It is vital to get the basics right. The good news is that this can be achieved without great expense by just applying some thought and consideration. In this seminar, hear how to take a critical look at your online presence and see what makes the difference between an also-ran web site and a top performer.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

Connecting to Content

Tuesday 22 September 2009
London

Genesys organised TTI's Autumn conference. Never has the travel industry been more inter-connected than it is today. No longer do travel companies just rely on selling their own content. The technology is in now in place to allow the industry to widely, electronically distribute products to everyone's commercial benefit.

The opportunities to connect to content are numerous but there are issues to be tackled. Which content is right for your business? How do you cope with duplication from multiple connections? What are the technological implications of implementing these real-time connections? What are the commercial concerns?

Speaking at the conference were:

• Steve Endacott, Chief Executive Officer, On Holiday Group
• Paul Speakman, IT Director, Travel Counsellors
• Dave Howard, Managing Director, Trailstream
• Humphrey Sheil, Chief Technology Officer, ComtecGroup
• Colin McKee, Sales Director, TravelTainment UK
• Tim Russell, Managing Director, Amadeus UK andIreland
• Jesper With-Fogstrup, Senior Director - Global HotelStrategy & Operations, GTA by Travelport
• Idit Gazit-Berger, Solution Specialist, Bing Maps forEnterprise
• John McQuillan, Chief Executive Officer, OpenJawTechnologies
• John Wales, Managing Director, Encore Tickets

Click here to download the conference leaflet with full agenda

Click here to visit TTI's web site to download the presentations

Make the Most of Mapping

Tuesday 16 June 2009
London

This was TTI's Summer 2009 Forum organised by Genesys. For travel web sites, mapping is an integral part of the provision of information that helps sell the products. Maps are the perfect visual medium to display the location of hotels, local attractions, restaurants and other ground based services. Mapping technology is progressing fast and so it pays to keep abreast of what is happening. What are the latest developments in mapping technology? What can actually be achieved? Is there more functionality to be had from location information than just displaying maps? These are a few of the questions that will be answered at this Forum. If you have mapping on your web site or you are looking to implement this, it is essential that you attend this forum.  Speaking at the event are:

• Idit Gazil-Berger, Mapping Solutions Specialist, Microsoft
• Richard Veal, Managing Director, New Mind
• Walid Al Saqqaf, Chief Operating Officer,TrustedPlaces
• Rob Howell, Chairman, Multicom

Click here to download the Forum leaflet.

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations.

Search and Rescue

Tuesday 28 April 2009
London

Some analysts are predicting that this will turn out to be the worst recession since World War II. The trading environment is extraordinarily tough.

Research has shown that consumers are not prepared tocompletely sacrifice their holidays but they areundoubtedly cutting back on the amount they are preparedto spend. This can only put travel company profits underpressure.

However, there is one big difference now compared toprevious recessionary periods. The difference is thatmost travel companies are now selling online. Thisprovides businesses the opportunity to extend their reachbeyond their traditional markets. Online businesses alsohave the potential to operate far more efficiently thantheir offline competitors, so reducing costs.

TTI's Spring conference, Search and Rescue, looked atwhat more can be done to raise your visibility on thesearch engines, boost your web site's effectivenessas a profitable sales channel and launch new onlinebusinesses. Speaking at the event were:

• Sandra Leonhard - Head of ecommerce, TUI plc
• Paul Evans - CEO, Lowcost Travel Group
• Robin Devlin - Industry Manager Travel, Google
• Daniel Cuffley - UK and Ireland Partner Director, Yahoo! Mobile
• Mark Walker - CEO, visithuelva.com
• Ray Mason - ex Managing Director, Travel.co.uk
• Neil McCarthy - COO, Latitude Group
• Greig Holbrook - CEO Oban Multilingual
• Steve Dunne - Strategy Director, Digital Drums
• Robin Good - Director of Research, Hitwise
• Michael Lacy - CEO, Handy Group
• Graham Cook - Vice President of Product Strategy, Expedia EMEA

Click here to download the conference leaflet

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations.

A Morning with Yahoo!

Tuesday 2 December 2008
London

Following TTI's successful 'Morning with Google' Forum last Summer, Genesys . organised a similar event with Yahoo! for TTI's Winter Forum.

This was an opportunity to find out what makes Yahoo!tick. There were four presentation from theYahoo! team covering online advertising, travelsector case studies, behavioural and audience targetingtools, and mobile. Representing Yahoo! were:

• Tracey Cheffey - Travel Category Director, Yahoo!
• Sam Clue - Travel Product Manager, Yahoo!
• Paul Thompson - Head of Strategy and Planning,Yahoo!
• Ken Hart - Senior Director of Business Development (for Yahoo!'s mobile business unit)

Click here to download the conference leaflet

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations.

World Travel Market Technology Seminars 2008

Tuesday 11 November and Thursday 13 November 2008
London

Following its great success last year, once again, Genesys organised the Technology Seminar Programme for World Travel Market.  There were five seminars on the Tuesday and the Thursday.  Here are the details:

Make the Most of the Web

Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The TravelTechnology Consultancy

Many travel and tourism organisations are finding that their web sites are not living up to their expectations. Their sites are not driving as much business as expected. There is a set of basic criteria that you need to get right for your web site to thrive. From there, you use free tools such as Google Analytics to build and improve.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

From Brochures to Multilingual SEO - Global Content is Key

Greig Holbrook, Director, Oban Multilingual
Tom Hall, Travel Editor, Lonely Planet Publications
Richard Lewis, CEO, Dutco Hospitality

From brochures to web sites, the need for effective global content has never been greater for the travel industry. Over 900 million internet users do not speak English and this number is growing daily. Effective global content ranges from having the right multilingual key phrases and content on your web sites for maximum search engine optimisation through to culturally effective content in brochures. To translate or not translate? How do you localise content effectively? What is the opportunity cost for not producing global content? These are some of the key issues that were addressed in this seminar.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

Travel Comparison Sites - Friend or Foe?

Doug Scott, Online Strategy Director, ASAP Ventures
Frosti Sigurjonsson, CEO, dohop Ltd,
Noel Josephides, Managing Director, Sunvil Holidays

There has been a lot of talk about comparison sites. Hailed by some as the hero of the consumer, they aren't always what they seem. There are different approaches to comparing - the main one is pay-per-click (PPC), used by sites such as travelsupermarket.com; the alternative is cost-per-acquisition (CPA), used by sites such as Carrentals.co.uk and asap.co.uk. This seminar looked at the different approaches of comparison sites, the pros and cons of each, how travel companies view comparators, and the consumer's perception.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

Get the Latest from Google Travel

James van Thiel, Head of Travel UK, Google
Alex Bainbridge, Director, TravelUCD
Len Wright, Managing Director, Open Roads

Google is affecting every travel company's livelihood. Clearly, it can pay dividends to have a good understanding of how Google operates and how to make the most of the facilities it offers. A team of three representatives from Google Travel will talk about the work that they do and answer questions from the two expert panellists and the audience. This was a unique opportunity to learn from the inside what makes Google tick.

Click here to visit the seminar download page.

Latest Developments in Search Engine Marketing

David St. John-Tradewell, Head of Business Development,iCrossing UK
Neil McCarthy, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer,Latitude Group

The travel and tourism industry spends many millions of pounds on search engine marketing but is that money always well spent? Certainly, there is real skill needed to gain good returns to search engine marketing and, indeed, some online marketing agencies are looking beyond the search engines to generate better returns for their clients. What is the state of play for search engine marketing? What other online marketing channels can be utilised to promote your company? How can one tap into social media?

Travel Futures

Tuesday 23 September 2008
London

With such a fast-moving climate of change, it has never been more difficult to plan for the future. Latest developments in technology can allow new entrants to quickly move into travel and gain a significant share of the market. However, any business that stands still will, whether it likes it or not, find itself moving backwards. The only approach is to embrace new ideas and adopt new technology. Understanding which business models and technology are best to adopt is critically important.

Does retail have a future? How is dynamic packaging evolving? Is the future of travel totally online? Will mobile develop as a significant channel? These are just a few of the questions that were answered. Speaking at this conference were:

• John McEwan, Chief Executive, Advantage Travel Centres
• Tom Griffiths, Founder & Director, gapyear.com
• Gerry Samuels, Founder & Executive Director, MobileTravel Technologies
• Chris Bruce, General Manager, BT Openzone
• Jamie Cole, Vice President Distribution Services,Hilton Hotels
• Peter Healey, Chief Executive Officer, VerticalGroup
• Steve Endacott, Chief Executive, On Holiday Group
• Rod Cuthbert, Chief Executive Officer, Viator
• Graham Pickett, Head of Aviation, Deloitte

Click here to download the conference leaflet

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations.

CRM in a Disloyal World

Tuesday 29 April 2008
London

Never has customer retention been more important than it is now. Many reckon that it is four times more costly to win new customers than to retain existing ones. Every customer retained is a customer denied to your competitors. Keep that customer loyal and your return on marketing investment will increase many fold. 

What are the latest techniques that will help you to dothis?  How can one build relationships withcustomers when they are purely online and not in directperson to person contact with you? What can be learntfrom those who are already practicing good CRM? Speaking at TTI's Spring conference were:

• Xavier Vallee, Head of Marketing for Avis Rent a Car
• Jeremy Acklam, Business Development Director atthetrainline.com
• Norbert Stiekama, Senior Vice President Sales &Distribution, Disneyland Resort Paris
• Nathan Philpot, Marketing Director, Wexas Ltd.
• Helen Litvak, General Manager - CRM, VirginHolidays
• Nigel Lingard, Marketing Director, Fred. Olsen CruiseLines
• Peter Matthews, CEO, Nucleus
• Fred Prego, Head of Marketing, AIRMILES

Click here to download the conference leaflet.

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations.

Travel Technology @ WTM 2007

November 2007

Once again Paul Richer of Genesys organised and led the travel technology seminar programme World Travel Market. The presentations made by speakers are available for download from this link.

The Future of Travel Distribution

Tuesday 25 September 2007
London

In the days before the Internet, travel distribution was easily understood. The GDSs dominated the distribution of flights, major hotel chain bedstock and car rental. Their use was exclusive to the travel trade with the general public having no access to these systems. In the UK, leisure travel distribution was dominated by viewdata, a system that despite its origins in 1970's technology, is still in use today.

With the arrival of the Internet, all this changed.Travel distribution is now a dynamic, ever-changingsubject and has never been more complex. TTI's Autumnconference tackled the subject of The Future of TravelDistribution.  Speaking at the event were:

• Stephane Durand, Managing Director, Amadeus UK &Ireland
• Daniele Mancini, e-Business Director, Costa Cruises
• Hugo Burge, Vice Chairman, Head of International,Cheapflights Limited
• John McQuillan, Chief Executive Officer, OpenJawTechnologies
• Madeleine Wood, Business Development Manager,Spannerworks
• Murad Hajeebhoy, Vice President Lodging and DestinationServices, EMEA, Expedia
• John Donnelly, Travel Entrepreneur, former ManagingDirector Harvey World Travel and former Managing DirectorFirst Choice Retail

Click here to download the conference leaflet (pdf 72kb)

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations

SMEs Gaining the Advantage

Tuesday 19 June 2007
London

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may believe, in this age of technological automation and online sales, that it is becoming impossible to compete with the "big boys." In fact, many SMEs are successfully challenging their larger competitors and winning the battle for sustained profitability. By playing smart, they can utilise advanced technology that is affordable and adopt online marketing techniques which cost effectively drive sales.

At TTIs Summer Forum we heard from experts who explained how to adopt the right technology at the right price. We learnt about cost effective search engine optimisation and marketing techniques and heard a case study of how one SME has successfully launched and grown its business, the technology adopted, the online marketing used, the challenges faced, the battles won. Speaking at the event were:

• Ed Spiers, Product Marketing Director, Anite Travel Systems
• Richard Gregory, Chief Operations Officer, LatitudeGroup
• Chris Fraser, Managing Director, HotelConnect

Click here to download the conference leaflet (pdf 70kb)

Click here to go to TTI's Web site to view the presentations

Travel in a Web 2.0 World

Tuesday 24 April 2007
London

Wikipedia defines Web 2.0 as referring to a perceived or proposed second generation of Internet-based services that emphasise online collaboration and sharing among users. Certainly, travel companies are seeking to embrace Web 2.0, but what does it mean in practice and what are the implications for the industry?

TTI's Spring 2007 conference examined Web 2.0 from avariety of perspectives: seeing how established travelcompanies are riding the wave, hearing about themotivations and strategies of new entrants, learningabout the new tools and services that will help travelcompanies monitor, control and interact with Web 2.0sites.

Click here to download the conference leaflet (pdf 69kb)

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

TTI WinterForum - Web Design Matters

Wednesday 6 December 2006
London

Getting the design of your web site right is absolutely crucial for the success of your online distribution strategy. For its 2006 Winter Forum, TTI assembled a panel of experts who shared their experiences and were able to highlight the do's and don'ts of site design. 

Download the conference leaflet  here. (pdf 54kb) 

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Travel Technology @ WTM 2006

November 2006
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised and led a seminar programme entitled "Travel Technology @ WTM" at the 2006 World Travel Market. The presentations made by speakers on the day are available for download on this page.

Your call is important to us ...

Tuesday 19 September 2006
London

With all the excitement and hype surrounding online travel, the telephone has been almost completely forgotten.  Yet it is still heavily used by the travel industry for immediate person to person communication. In recent years, there have been great strides forward in telephony developments, taking advantage of advanced computer technology and, of course, the Internet.

Internet telephone technology includes personalcommunication applications such as Skype, allowing you tomake phone calls worldwide for zero cost and commercialIP telephony that promises to drastically cutting thecost of telephone usage. Advanced computing is giving usautomated speech analytics and 'soft' callcentres.

How can your company take advantage of thesedevelopments? What does the future hold for thetelephone? These questions and many more were addressedby a group of expert speakers drawn from both the travelindustry and the telecoms industry. Speakersincluded:

• Dennis Luckett, Strategic Products Director, BT Global Services
• Loic Dupont, Director of Operations, Hotels.comEMEA
• Steve Unger, Director of Telecoms Technology, Ofcom
• Helen Bonner, Managing Director, Web ApplicationsUK
• Gerry Samuels, Founder and Executive Director, MobileTravel Technologies
• Andy Wareing, Senior Solutions Consultant, WitnessSystems
• Dominic Cameron, Director, Voice & Innovation,lastminute.com
• Mike Peloquin, Senior Vice President Sales, CallMiner Inc.
• Alistair Shrimpton, Head of Market Development, SkypeUK, Ireland and Holland

Click here to download the conference leaflet (pdf 94kb)

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Affiliate Marketing

Tuesday 20 June 2006
London

Whilst every travel company should take search engine marketing very seriously, an increasing number are turning to affiliate marketing, using other businesses' Web sites as a conduit to new customers. 
The payment methodology in affiliate marketing is onethat is very familiar to the travel industry, commissionon sales, known in the online world as cost peracquisition (CPA).  Many see this as far better thanthe search engines preferred remuneration method of payper click, as payment is directly linked to sales. How does one get an affiliate marketing programmestarted?  Is it best to sign up with an affiliatenetwork or to build one's own programme?  Whatare the pitfalls and what are the key successfactors?  For its 2006 Summer Forum, TTI assembled apanel of experts who shared their experiences and gavetheir take on how to succeed at affiliatemarketing. 

Speaking at the event were:

• Alan Potts, Managing Director, Leisure Direction
• Sanela Mujakovic, Online Marketing and AffiliateManager, Leisure Direction
• Kevin Addley, Sales Manager, Commission Junction
• John briggs, Sales Director, The Lowcost TravelGroup

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to download the Forum leaflet with full details of the event (pdf 54kb)

Beyond Search

Tuesday 25 April 2006
London

Gaining visibility on the search engines is becoming more and more difficult. Paying per click for keywords is becoming more expensive as travel companies learn the technique of exploiting the long tail of lesser used keyword search terms. Optimising your Web site for good natural search engine rankings is becoming less effective as everyone adopts the same techniques. Whilst search engines must always form a part of one's online marketing strategy, there are many other ways to market online. TTI's Spring conference will explore those online marketing strategies and techniques that do not involve the search engines. The conference will explore subjects such as affiliate marketing, online loyalty schemes, improving usability and taking advantage of the mobile Internet. Speakers presenting at this conference have been drawn from the travel industry and will speak about real experiences of taking their companies beyond search. Confirmed to speak at the conference are:

• Stefanie Lofgren, Global Business Development Manager, Travel and Hospitality, Sun Microsystems
• Patrick Oqvist, EMEA Marketing Director, Hotels.com
• Stuart Jackson, Commercial Director, CosmosHolidays
• Graham Donoghue, Head of New Media, TUI UK
• Tanya Lidstone, Head of Web Development, Opodo
• Alan Potts, Managing Director, Leisure Direction
• Robin Ingle, Vice President International BusinessDevelopment, TripAdvisor
• Heather Hopkins, Director of Research, Hitwise UK
• Daniela Wagner, Managing Director,OctopusTravel.com.

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to download the conference leaflet (pdf 165kb)

Working with Online Distributors

Wednesday 7 December 2005
London

Travel companies are realising that it is not good enough just to have a Web site of one's own. The online opportunity is far greater than this. Distributors such as the online travel agents and the new meta-search engines are influencing an increasing proportion of the travel market. One of the keys to their success is their ability to offer searchable and bookable content; accommodation, holidays, flights and other product that can be booked and paid for in real-time.

The watch-words are real-time. Consumers do not want to have to wait to find out whether a product is available. They are online and they want it now. If travel companies are working with online distributors this implies either handing over inventory for a distributor to load on its own reservation system or inter-connecting systems so that inventory is searched and booked real-time on the host system.

It is the latter that is the subject of this Forum. A team of experts who have hands-on experience of connecting travel companies to online distributors spoke at the event. They were:

• Rob Howell, Managing Director, Multicom
• Gordon Maynard, Technical Director, Teletext
• James Clarke, Head of IT, travelsupermarket.com
• Peter Barnsley, Information Systems Manager, Seligo
• Moderator: Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to download a copy of the Forum leaflet (pdf 81kb)

Search - The New Travel Distribution Channel - TTI Autumn Conference 2005

Monday 26 September 2005
London

Genesys organised  the Travel Technology Initiative's Autumn 2005 conference. Just how important for the travel industry is search? Many are hailing it as the new golden distribution channel. Get your search engine strategy right and then sit back and watch the customers roll in. Undoubtedly, search is a vital area of distribution. Yet it is fraught with danger. Get it right and prosperity beckons. Get it wrong and watch your funds drain away. Speakers at this conference included:

• Ed Spiers, Director, Anite Travel Systems
• Heather Hopkins, Director of Research, Hitwise UK
• Daniel Robb, Head of Travel, Google UK
• Len Wright, Managing Director, Open Roads
• Nishma Patel, Managing Director, Teletext Holidays
• Chris Loughlin, Managing Director, Travelzoo UK
• Malcolm Duckett, Marketing Director, speed-trap
• Tim Frankcom, General Manager, Yahoo! Travel Europe
• Peter Gould, Chief Executive Officer, Great HotelsOrganisation
• Chris Nixon, Director, travelsupermarket.com
• Liz Faherty, Director of Business Development,Cheapflights Ltd

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to view the conference leaflet with the full agenda (pdf 80kb)

Exploring Online Marketing - TTI Summer Forum 2005

Wednesday 8 June 2005
London

TTI Forum's are interactive events where delegates get the opportunity to discuss and debate topics with the presenters and panellists. Exploring Online Marketing was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of what is needed to succeed in raising your Web site's profile in the increasingly crowded market for online travel. Topics that were addressed included the ingredients for successful search engine optimisation and how to gain the best value from your online marketing budget. Finding out how your site can rise to the top of organic search engine listings? What must you do to ensure positive ROI on pay per click search engine marketing? What strategies must you adopt to get ahead of the competition? These are just some of the questions that will be tackled.

Speaking at the Forum were:

• Malcolm Duckett, Corporate Vice President Operations& Marketing, speed-trap
• Rowan Wilkinson, Technical Marketing Analyst,Netizen
• Alasdair Cross, Commercial Director,Adprecision.net

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to view the conference leaflet with full agenda (pdf 80kb)

Dynamic Packaging - TTI Spring Conference 2005

Tuesday 12 April 2005
London

Genesys organised TTI's Spring conference on the subject of Dynamic Packaging. The conference aimed to settle the argument between the traditionalists who say dynamic packaging is no more than tailor-made tour operating and the new entrants who are firm in their belief that dynamic packaging is new, exciting and giving them a real edge.

The conference paid particular attention to how agentsare embracing dynamic packaging as they seek to make aliving in the new world of zero commission flights,aiming to answer the question of whether they cansuccessfully bypass tour operators, cutting them out ofthe travel sales chain.

The event featured two panel sessions. One session putthe new dynamic packagers head to head: Steve Endacott ofHoliday Brokers, Paul Evans of lowcostbeds.com and VicDarvey of lastminute's holidayandmore.com, to findout which company really offers agents the best productsand technology. The other session saw tour operatortechnology suppliers, old and new, arguing that theirparticular technical approach is best.

Martin Wellings, ABTA President, delivered the key notespeech.

• The full list of speakers was as follows:
• Martin Wellings, President, ABTA
• John McEwan, Managing Director, Advantage, The NationalNetwork of Travel Agents
• Dave Griffiths, Business Applications Director, MyTravel UK
• Mark Bradbury, Director - Business Development, RWALtd
• Steve Endacott, Chief Executive, Holiday Brokers
• Andy Tidy, Managing Director, Uptrips
• Paul Evans, Chief Executive, lowcostbeds.com
• Steve Dobson, Director of Technical Development, AniteTravel Systems
• Vic Darvey, General Manager, holidayandmore.com
• John Lambe, Chief Technology Officer, OpenJawTechnologies

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to download the detailed conference programme (PDF, 79kb)

Implementing TOPAS and TORIX - TTI Winter Forum 2004

Wednesday 8 December 2004
London

Genesys organised TTI's second forum, which focused on the implementation of TOPAS and TORIX, the two new standards launched in 2004 by the Travel Technology Initiative. Each is designed to improve the efficiency of particular travel industry electronic distribution processes that rely on data interchange. The Forum dealt with the mechanics of implementing each standard as well as business questions such as cost and timing.

The Forum was organised into twosessions, one for each standard. Each session will beganwith a presentation setting the scene: explaining thebackground to the development of the standard, itsobjectives and the benefits that are expected to beachieved. The presentations provided an introduction toimplementation. Following each presentation, there was apanel session.

Speaking at the event was:

• Chris Smith, Development Manager -First Choice Business Systems, First Choice MainstreamHolidays
• Simon Powell, Chief Executive, Comtec Europe Ltd
• Peter Healey, Chief Executive, The Vertical Group
• Neil Smith, Senior Applications Consultant, MyTravel UKLimited
• Photos Georgas, Manager - Technical Architecture, TUIUK
• Steve Dobson, Director of Technical Development, AniteTravel Systems
• Tom Steele, Technical Director, Bluesky TravelSystems
• Monica Howat, Senior Data Architect, TUI UK

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Click here to download thedetailed conference programme (PDF, 278kb).

Future Electronic Travel Distribution - TTI Autumn Conference2004

Wednesday 5 October 2004
London

Genesys organised the Travel Technology Initiative's Autumn 2004 conference, which addressed many of the issues currently surrounding electronic travel distribution. These included business to business travel distribution, the phasing out of viewdata and the future of GDSs and leisure travel networks.

The following spoke at the event:

• Ed Spiers, Director, Anite TravelSystems
• Simon Powell, Chief Executive, Comtec Europe Ltd
• Jason Clarke, Country Manager, Galileo UK
• David Brown, Vice President, Leisure - EMEA, SabreTravel Network
• Mark Foy, Head of IT, Thomas Cook Tour Operations
• David Cowell, Sales and Marketing Director, HolidayExtras Ltd
• Bill Barnes, Head of Tours Business Unit (UK),Amadeus
• Graham Nichols, Vice President and General ManagerEMEA, Worldwide Travel Distribution, Worldspan
• Chris Smith, Development Manager - First ChoiceBusiness Systems, First Choice Holidays PLC
• Keith Webber, Head of Travel Sector, TelewestBusiness
• Peter Healey, Chief Executive, The Vertical Group
• Neil Smith, Senior Applications Consultant, MyTravel UKLimited
• David Thomas, Head of Service Delivery, TUI UK

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded.

Read Paul Richer's conference summary on TravelMole.

Revenue Management for Tour Operators and Ferry Operators - TTI Summer Forum 2004

Wednesday 7 July 2004
London

Genesys organised the inaugural TTI Forum, the first in a series of events focusing on subjects that have a major impact on the profitability of travel companies.

The forum tackled the vital subject of revenue management. How can you maximise the return on your inventory? What pricing strategies should you adopt in the face of the competition? Do predictive techniques have a valid role to play? Attend this TTI Forum and learn from the people who have the answers.

Speaking at the event:

• Ted Esse, Product Strategy Director, Revenue Technology Services
• Steve Marchant, Managing Director, ConsultecomLimited
• Simon Russell, Managing Director, SJR Consulting

The presentations will be followed by an interactiveforum, where participants can discuss and debate thetopic with the experts.

Click here to go to TTI's Web site where presentations can be downloaded

Travel Agents Fighting Back

Tuesday 20 April 2004
London

Genesys organised the Travel Technology Initiative's Spring 2004 conference.  With all the hype surrounding the online travel companies and their continued growth, with tour operators continuing to disintermediate traditional travel agencies, with the growing dominance of the no-frills airlines across
European air travel, it appears that travel agents are athreatened species, soon to be extinct. This is not so.Travel agents are fighting back.  Speaking at theevent were:

• Ian Reynolds, Chief Executive, Association of British Travel Agents
• Paul Clayton, Director of Information Technology,Global Travel Group
• David Speakman, Founder and Chairman, TravelCounsellors
• Jeff Petar, Chief Executive Officer, AirbornLimited
• Norman Gage, Director of Business Travel, AdvantageTravel Centres
• Mike Platt, Managing Director, BTI UK
• Peter Shortt, AccountDirector—Distribution and Internet,BT
• Patrick Cherry, Sales & Marketing Director, Page& Moy
• David Jones, Executive Vice President, Commercial,Amadeus
• Clive Jacobs, Executive Vice Chairman,lastminute.com

Click here to go to TTI's  Web site where presentations can be downloaded

Out of Print

Tuesday 7 October 2003
London

Genesys organised the Travel Technology Initiative's Autumn 2003 conference.  The event examined the topical subject of e-brochures:

Are e-brochures set to revolutionise the travel industry?
What success has been had by those organisations that are already pioneering e-brochures? What pitfalls have they overcome?
Which e-brochure strategies and technologies are right for your company?

Read the conference report

Click here to go to TTI's  Website where presentations can be downloaded

Online meets Traditional

Tuesday 8 April 2003
London

Genesys organised Travel Technology Initiative's Spring 2003 conference. The online travel companies meet the established players to answer such questions as - How do the distribution strategies of the online travel companies differ from the traditional players? - Are online and traditional companies competing for the same customers or are they addressing disparate market segments? - Are the new kids on the block set to become the top travel brands of the 21st Century?

Speakers will presented theirdistribution plans and debated the issues head to head ina speaker panel session.

Click here to download the conference leaflet with details of speakers, programme and registration (pdf 130kb)

Click here to go to TTI's  Web site where presentations can be downloaded

b2b or not2b

Tuesday 15 October 2002
London

Genesys organised Travel Technology Initiative's Autumn 2002 conference. The world of travel distribution is changing fast. TUI UK's new Genie b2b travel agency booking system might finally catalyse the demise of viewdata. Advanced electronic distribution systems are being launched that will offer greater channel control and open up new opportunities for trading travel. The prospect is for faster, more efficient commerce and for trading in a manner that, until now, was simply not possible. What are the latest developments? What opportunities do they present? Will they live up to their b2b promise or are they simply not2b?

Click here to download the conference leaflet with details of speakers, programme and registration pdf 76kb)

Click here to go to TTI's  Web site where presentations can be downloaded

CRM in Travel

Thursday 14 March 2002
London

Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. More and more travel companies are implementing CRM technology as they increasingly recognise that it is far more cost effective to sell product to existing customers than to sell the same product to new customers.  Is Customer Relationship Management just the latest jargon for database marketing or does it go further than this? Is adopting good CRM practice affordable or is the cost out of the reach of many companies? How are other travel companies implementing CRM and what benefits are they gaining?

Click here to download the conference leaflet with details of speakers, programme and registration pdf 73kb)

Click here to go to TTI's  Web site where presentations can be downloaded

Firing on all Channels

Tuesday 25 September 2001
London

Genesys organised this one day conference on behalf of Travel Technology Initiative. Travel companies that have led the challenge of online distribution are now considering or already have a presence on interactive digital TV. They may soon be on 3G mobile services. Multi-channel distribution is the next big issue, with seamless integration the new goal. How will this be achieved? What strategies are the market leaders pursuing? What are the resource implications? Find out for yourself by attending Firing on all Channels, TTI's 2001 Autumn conference.

Click here to download the conference leaflet with details of speakers, programme and registration (pdf 244kb)

Working Together

Thursday 15 March 2001
London

Genesys organised this one day conference on behalf of Travel Technology Initiative. The travel distribution technology of the 21st Century is encouraging travel companies to work together. Those who may have been your competitors could now also be your business partners. Third parties from outside the industry are forming portals to distribute travel products. A top class list of speakers presented around this theme which examined the impact of travel industry portals and alliances.

Click here to download the conference leaflet with details of speakers, programme and registration (pdf 72kb)

Click here to go to TTI's  Web site where presentations can be downloaded

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