We’re delighted to announce that Rob Torres, Managing Director at Google Travel, will deliver the opening keynote talk at this year’s Direct Booking Summit in Miami! With decades of leadership experience at some of the biggest forces in online travel, including a tenure as Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Expedia, Rob will share his vision for the future of hotel online distribution and answer our delegates’ most burning questions on how to drive even more direct revenue through metasearch.
Alongside Rob, here are the latest additions to our world-class lineup of speakers in Miami:
Alongside Rob, we’re excited to showcase a number of leading industry figures who’ll be sharing their expertise exclusively at the Direct Booking Summit. In her keynote talk, Colette Labis, Director of Partnerships & Distribution at Westgate Resorts, will break down third-party contracts from Westgate Resorts' legal team and analyze them on stage, showing attendees how they can avoid grey areas that may be causing leaking rates. Colette and her team at Westgate Resorts have taken the ‘three-strike rule’ to the next level, making headlines for taking a stand and suing Amoma after they repeatedly violated their terms. Colette will make sure that your hotel has control over the contents of your contracts and is ready to take action against leaking rates!
Dan Wacksman, Board Chair, Marketing Advisory Board at HSMAI, Principal at SASSATO and former Senior Vice President, Marketing and Distribution at Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, will also be bringing his world-class consultancy expertise to a fascinating discussion on creating a multi-disciplined hotel team.
The Summit's attendees will also hear from three founding members of the Hotel Heroes program: Inderpreet Banga, Vice President of Channel & Distribution Strategy at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Katherine Solomon, Corporate Director of Revenue Management at Arlo Hotels, and Justyn Hornor, Senior Product Manager at Las Vegas Sands. A distribution expert who loves to help hotels reach their maximum profitability, Inderpreet will give actionable tips on the hidden advantages hoteliers should be making the most of for when assessing their channel profitability, and Katherine will share best practices for building a revenue management powerhouse at your hotel. For the first time ever at a Direct Booking Summit, Justyn will be performing live tear-downs of delegates’ direct websites, explaining how to create a seamless user experience using real-time examples - keep an eye on the Triptease Content Hub for opportunities to take part soon!
Our keynote speakers also feature representatives from some of the biggest hospitality brands in the world. Connie Marianacci is the Director of eCommerce Strategy & Performance at Accor, and will be delving into her database management system to help our delegates understand how to make better decisions with their hotel data and take back control of e-commerce and revenue management. After two days of identifying shared problems, challenges and solutions, Stevie Stevenson, Director of Offer Strategy at Hilton, will be closing out the conference with a one-of-a-kind interactive session you simply can’t miss! Driving more direct bookings lies on the shoulders of every hotel department, and Stevie's workshop will explore fascinating ways on breaking down silos, seamlessly collaborate across teams and the best ways of structuring your ways of working to achieve shared success.
The Direct Booking Summit in Miami is set to be the biggest event of the year for hoteliers, and the only place where you can learn how to enhance your own direct channel from the brightest lights in the industry. We can’t wait to see you there!
