Luxury is changing fast and we wanted to know what it looks like when comfort, curiosity, and real local impact meet. Luxury is entering a new era, one defined less by thread counts and more by access, education, and meaningful impact. In this episode, we sit down with Yves Marceau, VP of Product at G Adventures, to explore the launch of National Geographic Signature with G Adventures and why it represents a fundamental shift in what high-end travel can be.

Built on a decade-long partnership and officially launching with more than 30 high-end trips across nearly 30 destinations, National Geographic Signature brings together National Geographic’s 135-year legacy of exploration, science, storytelling, and education with G Adventures’ 35+ years as a pioneer in community tourism. The result is a collection designed for culturally curious travelers who want deep learning, rare access, and five-star comfort without compromising values or local benefit.

Flight canceled, heart rate rising, clock ticking. Now imagine a single tap that rebooks you on any airline in minutes or delivers a full refund without lines, calls, or frustration. In this episode, we sit down with Patrick Steadman, VP of Disruption at Hopper and Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS), to unpack the new playbook for certainty in an increasingly unpredictable sky.

We break down how cancel-for-any-reason, disruption assistance, and price freeze actually work in the real world, why they’re typically priced at 10–15% of trip cost, and how AI models balance risk, demand, and adoption. Patrick explains what happens the moment disruption hits: proactive alerts, a guided self-service experience, and a 98% automation rate that gets travelers moving again fast. We also explore who’s buying flexibility and why, from business travelers with double the attach rate to Gen Z and millennials prioritizing experiences, and premium flyers stacking fintech with loyalty instead of choosing one over the other.

Chicago isn’t just back, it’s surging. In episode six of our 10-part Travelzoo Best Bets Series, Dan and Travelzoo Senior Editor and co-host Gabe Saglie sit down with Lisa Nucci of Choose Chicago to  map out the experiences and local insights that turn a short visit into a lasting memory.

We explore the South Side’s moment in the spotlight, from the Obama Presidential Center as a powerful new cultural anchor to Hyde Park’s renewed energy, Pullman’s rail legacy, and the DuSable Black History Museum. Then we move through the city’s 77 neighborhoods like a progressive dinner: Argyle’s Southeast Asian flavors, Pilsen and Little Village for tacos and family-run favorites, and the tavern-cut pizza locals swear by. Music lovers get a guide to Chicago’s house roots, the Chosen Few picnic, legendary late nights at the Green Mill and Kingston Mines, and a theater scene that blends Broadway polish with intimate storytelling. When it’s time to slow down, the architecture river cruise offers a fresh way to understand the skyline.

A family basement isn't where you’d expect a global luggage brand to begin, but that’s exactly where the Heys story took flight. In this episode, we sit down with CEO Emran Sheikh to unpack four decades of innovation, bold design choices, and a proudly Canadian identity that now spans 75 countries. From candy-coloured hard shells that broke up a sea of black bags to Bluetooth-enabled smart locks powered by simple AA batteries, Heys has grown by solving real traveler problems rather than chasing trends that can’t survive airport rules.

The aviation story is bigger than fares and aircraft, it’s about how global alliances quietly choreograph your entire journey. In the our kickoff episode of our Aviation series, we sit down with Roger Blackburn, VP Commercial & Loyalty at oneworld Alliance, to reveal how 15+ member airlines coordinate routes, lounges, data, and service so travelers can move across continents with fewer frustrations and better perks. If you’ve ever wondered why your status unlocks priority lanes, lounge access, and smoother transfers across multiple carriers, or how alliances choose new members, Roger takes us behind the curtain, minus the jargon.

Savannah never makes you choose between ease and depth; it delivers both the moment you start exploring. In episode five of our 10-part Travelzoo Best Bets Series, Dan and Travelzoo Senior Editor and co-host Gabe Saglie sit down with Supriya Christopher of Visit Savannah to map out how America’s first planned city blends oak-shaded squares, layered history, and a surprisingly modern creative pulse that feels made for 2026. With the 250th anniversary of the United States and one of the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on deck, this is the year to discover why the best souvenir here is memory, not merchandise.

Experiences - not things - are becoming the world’s most powerful growth market, and investor Michael Zeisser, Managing Partner, FMZ Ventures joins us to explain why. we explore how the shift from goods to meaning is reshaping the entire travel and experiences economy and what it means to play the long game in a world where travelers increasingly seek connection, transformation, and purpose. We look at where travel is headed next as new ecosystems of creators, distribution platforms, and enablement tools emerge. Michael breaks down why companies like GetYourGuide and Fever are pulling ahead, and why true differentiation, not copycat concepts, is what builds category-defining brands.

We go deep into how AI is transforming experiences through three major shifts: hyper-personalization grounded in real-world context, productivity gains that expand margins, and time reallocation that ultimately generates new demand. Michael connects these advances to what travelers are seeking most in 2026: agency, connection, and inspiration. 

Ready to trade crowds for clarity and noise for nature? In episode four of our 10-part Travelzoo Best Bets Series, Dan and Travelzoo Senior Editor (and co-host) Gabe Saglie head to Finland with Visit Finland’s Tarja Koivisto to map out a year-round escape shaped by wellness, design, and wild beauty. Think 188,000 lakes, 3 million saunas, and four regions that make trip-planning effortless: Helsinki for architecture and food, Lakeland for serene, water-lined landscapes, the Coast and Archipelago for island-hopping freedom, and Lapland for snow-soft winters and glowing summer nights.

Start the new year with a clear-eyed plan for transformational travel. In the final episode of our Sustainability Series, we sit down with Dr. Susanne Etti, Intrepid’s Global Environmental Impact Manager, to explore how one of the world’s leading adventure brands is moving sustainability from promises to proof-phasing out offsets, investing directly in decarbonization, and expanding carbon measurement to include the full customer lifecycle, even flights they don’t sell.

Dr. Etti breaks down Intrepid’s three-pillar approach. First: rigorous measurement and transparent reporting that capture everything from on-trip transport and lodging to meals, waste, and now customer air travel. Second: deep decarbonization, including EV adoption for ground transfers, renewable energy across global offices, and itinerary redesigns that remove flights where safe and feasible. Third: climate literacy and advocacy, empowering teams worldwide to understand the data, communicate tradeoffs honestly, and guide travelers with carbon labels and clear storytelling.

Imagine a travel company where the business itself fuels impact, not just through donations but through ownership. That is the UnTours story. In this episode, CEO Jonathan Coleman shares how the world’s first certified B Corp tour operator became part of a foundation that invests every dollar into small businesses creating meaningful change in destinations.

Jonathan walks us through Hal and Norma Taussig’s remarkable origin story, beginning with apartment-based, slow travel in the 1970s and evolving into a vow of poverty that redirected profits into a foundation, eventually transferring company ownership. We then explore the Reset Tourism Fund, which transforms corporate philanthropy from partners such as Expedia Group, TUI Care Foundation, Skyscanner, Tourism Cares, Agoda and XO into flexible, low-interest loans for small tourism enterprises.

A century-old highway is about to steal the spotlight again. In episode three of our 10-part Travelzoo Best Bets Series, Dan and Travelzoo Senior Editor (and co-host) Gabe Saglie head to Arizona’s storied stretch of Route 66 with guest Nikki Terlesky, Director of Operations for the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. Together, they explore why the Mother Road still embodies freedom, spontaneity, and Americana—especially as the U.S. approaches its 250th birthday. From neon-lit motor lodges to desert bends that test your steering, this is road-tripping at its most evocative.

You’ll get a practical 2026 game plan: the best times to go, how weather shifts with elevation from Kingman to Flagstaff, and how to layer in icons like the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Meteor Crater.

The rails are buzzing for a reason: travelers want flexible journeys, city-center convenience, and window-seat scenery without the stress. At the Railbookers Global Summit, we sat down with CEO Frank Marini and three of his senior leaders to explore how a remote-first culture, deep trade partnerships, and an ambitious AI strategy are powering the renaissance of rail travel.

Frank breaks down a record year—27% growth overall and 39% in luxury rail—and why small groups and pre- and post-cruise extensions are surging.

The rules of “green travel” have changed. We’re moving beyond feel-good labels to a world where travelers, advisors, and investors expect real proof, data, targets, and measurable benefits for the places we visit. To open our Sustainability Series, Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Travel Corporation, joins us to unpack what credible impact looks like in 2026 and how operators of any size can demonstrate it.

We trace an origin story from Newfoundland’s cod collapse to the surge of unplanned tourism that followed, illuminating why sustainability is really destination quality control. Shannon cuts through the sustainable vs. regenerative debate by grounding it in evidence: climate action plans, supplier standards, transparent reporting, and guest experiences that keep money in local communities.

Ready to travel smarter in 2026? In episode two of our 10-part Travelzoo Best Bets Series, Dan and Travelzoo Senior Editor (and co-host) Gabe Saglie sit down with Andrew Young, Senior Producer & Tourism Board Lead, to reveal Travelzoo’s Best Bets for the U.S. and Canada and unpack the “why now” behind each destination so you can plan trips that feel timely, meaningful, and great value.

In the U.S., anniversaries take center stage: Pennsylvania’s 250th and Arizona’s Route 66 centennial bring fresh energy to American nostalgia, while Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center and Savannah’s living history round out a lineup tailor-made for culture lovers and road trippers.

We’re wrapping up our 2025 events spotlights with our biggest event episode ever, a 5+ hour special recorded live at Phocuswright San Diego. This landmark episode features 25 exclusive interviews with industry leaders shaping the future of travel, technology, distribution, and the in-destination experience.

This year’s Phocuswright was a standout event for Travel Trends, and we’re grateful to the entire Phocuswright team — especially Pete Comeau and Eugene Ko — for their partnership and support in making this recording possible so we can share these valuable insights with our global audience.

The way travelers discover and book multi-day adventures is shifting fast, and TourRadar is leaning all the way in. In this “Captains of Industry,” episode, TourRadar co-founder and CEO Travis Pittman breaks down how a $200B category is rewriting its playbook around creators, mobile, and practical AI to turn social inspiration into real, bookable demand. From a new social commerce layer that links traveler reels directly to itineraries, to a mobile app already driving meaningful high-ticket transactions, Travis shares what’s working now and what’s still just hype.

We start with the hardest challenge in travel today: customer acquisition. With AI overviews reshaping search and SEO volatility hitting nearly every brand, the old playbook simply doesn’t hold. Travis explains how TourRadar diversified demand by investing in micro- and nano-creators, building an ambassador program that pays on value, and focusing on content that feels native to the trip.

We’re kicking off a 10-part Travelzoo Best Bets Series to explore how smarter and more meaningful travel is taking center stage and how to book it at real value. Dan and Travelzoo’s Senior Editor and co-host Gabe Saglie are joined by Jonathan Jones, Travelzoo’s Head of Publishing U.S., who leads the team behind the brand’s most trusted deals, including the iconic Top 20. A champion of price transparency and member-first storytelling, Jonathan shapes the editorial voice that reaches millions each week and helps maintain Travelzoo’s reputation as the trusted guide for its global community of travel enthusiasts.

What happens when your customers stop “visiting” your website because their AI agents visit for them? That’s the future we explore with Dan Flores of Satisfi Labs, who went from helping grow Maverick Helicopters into a tourism powerhouse to pioneering agent-first customer experiences that sell tickets, qualify MICE leads, and streamline service for destinations, attractions, and tours.

We trace Satisfi’s origins in sports starting with the New York Mets and how fan-centric thinking now powers travel use cases. Dan breaks down the shift from simple FAQ chatbots to specialized AI agents with goals, context, and the ability to take action: a theme park agent that finds the closest chicken nuggets and orders ahead, or a destination agent that captures group details, routes leads by territory, and hands sales teams qualified briefs. We also dig into pricing models, build versus buy considerations, and how bespoke solutions graduate into platform-wide features that benefit the entire industry.

In the final episode of our Loyalty Series, we sit down with citizenM’s former CCO and CEO and now another star CEO Lennert de Jong to unpack how a boutique hotel brand reinvented loyalty as a product rather than a points program. The result was a paid subscription model, guaranteed room availability, and a bold brand IP sale to Marriott, all of which reshaped citizenM’s growth, distribution strategy, and guest experience without diluting its identity.

Lennert takes us back to the company’s early stance against traditional loyalty models and the forces that pushed a rethink: OTA pressure, the strength of U.S. direct-booking behavior, and the need for scale to protect rate integrity. Out of that emerged mycitizenM+, a simple paid membership that delivers immediate, tangible perks most notably guaranteed rooms when travelers need them most. The psychology mirrors Amazon Prime: when guests pay to join, they default to the brand and return more often. We explore how citizenM measured success through customer lifetime value, switching behavior, and how benefits like coworking access and F&B discounts aligned perfectly with the brand’s living-room-centric design.

Think points are the prize? In travel loyalty, status is the real currency - the fast lane, the lounge, the upgrades, and the ease that comes from knowing you’re looked after. In the second episode of our Loyalty Series, we sit down with Erin Murray, CMO of Loyalty Status Co, to explore why many loyalty programs are now more valuable than the airlines that run them and how the smartest brands use status to shape behavior, lift yield, and keep their highest-value travelers loyal.

We follow Erin’s 25-year career across Air Miles, Points, and now Loyalty Status Co to reveal what truly motivates frequent travelers. You’ll hear how Status Lift reduces the need for painful “status runs” by letting near-qualifiers buy up at exactly the right moment. And how Status Match acquires proven high-value flyers the moment a competitor falters. Just look at Air France: after BA’s program changes, they matched 4,000 elites who went on to book 17,000 flights, many in business class. That’s the playbook: spot the moment, validate the traveler, deliver benefits that matter, and watch the revenue follow.