Your tour business shouldn’t need a custom-built system just to manage departures, rooming, payments and traveller documents. In this Company Spotlight episode, Dan sits down with Alex Ragin, Founder of Tourseta and Zoftify, to explore what happens when multi-day and group tour operators finally have technology built around the way they actually work.

Alex shares how his experience building custom software for travel companies eventually led to Tourseta, and why the decision to buy versus build technology looks very different for small and mid-sized operators. He explains how Tourseta has evolved beyond a booking platform into an all-in-one tour management system, bringing together costings, customer records, quotes, itineraries, reminders, forms and many of the everyday workflows that become increasingly difficult to manage as a tour business grows.

There’s one rule LivTours refuses to compromise on: no more than six guests per tour. In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Angelo Carotenuto, Founder and Co-owner, and Kristin Karstendotter, Co-owner of LivTours, to explore how that simple decision helped shape a very different kind of tour company.

Angelo and Kristin explain why six isn’t just a number. Smaller groups remove many of the things travellers have come to associate with traditional sightseeing, from following flags and listening through headsets to being rushed through an attraction on a fixed script. Instead, guides can have real conversations, adjust the experience on the fly, and create the kind of personal connection that travelers remember long after they return home.

If you work in tours, activities, attractions, or multi-day travel, you already know the industry is changing fast. Distribution is evolving, the way travellers discover experiences is shifting, and AI is rewriting the playbook. In this Event Preview episode, Dan sits down with Bruce Rosard, Co-founder and COO of Arival, to preview Arival 360 Spokane Oct 12-15 2026 and discuss the trends every experiences business should have on its radar.

The most dangerous moment in travel isn’t a storm, a strike, or a missed connection. It’s the moment a traveler reaches the payment page... and decides not to book.

We call it booking anxiety, and new research sponsored by Protect Group, in partnership with Phocuswright and Web in Travel, puts hard data behind a challenge the industry has long underestimated.

In this episode, Dan sits down with Stephen Joyce, Global Strategy Lead – Travel, Tours & OTAs at Protect Group, to explore why traveler confidence often disappears at checkout. They unpack why today's travelers worry just as much about losing valuable vacation time as they do about losing money, why disruption risk feels more real than ever, and why flexibility has become one of the biggest drivers of conversion. The research shows many travelers would rather pay a little more for peace of mind than choose the cheapest non-refundable fare, and that knowing a full refund is possible if plans change is one of the strongest motivators to complete a booking.

Hop-on hop-off buses are often a traveler's first introduction to a destination, yet the technology powering that experience hasn't changed much in years. Audio commentary can be expensive to produce, difficult to update, and nearly impossible to maintain across dozens of languages. In this Company Spotlight, Dan is joined by iWander CEO and Co-founder Marius Nigond and CTO and Co-founder Antoine Nigond to explore how AI is transforming sightseeing for operators around the world.

Getting sick while traveling is more common than most people realize. Whether it's food poisoning, a fever, an injury, or an unexpected illness, navigating a foreign healthcare system can quickly become one of the most stressful parts of any trip. You may not speak the language, know where to go, or trust the care you're receiving.

In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Max Levine, CEO and Founder of Awayward, a virtual healthcare platform designed specifically for international travellers. Max shares the personal travel experiences that inspired him to launch the company and explains why calling your family doctor back home often isn't enough when local prescriptions, licensing, and healthcare systems come into play.

Sonder was once one of the most recognizable names in modern hospitality. Then, almost overnight, it disappeared. Now, it's back in a very different form. In this breaking news episode, Dan sits down with John Lyotier, Co-founder and CEO of TravelAI, to discuss the company's acquisition of the Sonder trademarks and domain portfolio, including Sonder.com, and why it's relaunching the brand as an AI powered, curated guide to the world's best urban stays. The acquisition includes the brand and intellectual property only. It does not include Sonder's former operating business, properties, leases, or staff.

The travel industry creates an incredible amount of content, yet some of its most valuable stories are never shared. In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Annie Pezza, Founder and CEO of Pinerary, to explore why travel doesn't have a content problem, it has a capture problem, and what brands are missing when travelers' experiences disappear into camera rolls and social feeds.

The conversation goes beyond where people stayed or what they did to uncover what really makes travel memorable: the moments that surprise us, change our perspective, and inspire us to return. Annie explains how Pinerary helps travelers preserve those experiences through shareable itineraries while giving travel brands access to authentic stories that build trust, inspire future bookings, and continue delivering value long after a trip has ended.

MarketHub Americas by HBX Group has become one of the travel industry's premier gatherings, bringing together nearly 600 travel leaders from 16 source markets to explore the trends shaping the future of travel. Recorded live from Punta Cana, this special Travel Trends event spotlight features three conversations with HBX Group executives on AI, travel distribution, luxury travel, and the partnerships driving the industry's next chapter.

Our most comprehensive Event Spotlight to date! Recorded live at Phocuswright Europe 2026 in Barcelona.

Over two days at one of the industry's most influential gatherings, Dan sat down with more than 20 founders, CEOs, investors, and analysts to understand what is actually reshaping the future of travel in Europe. The result is over six and a half hours of conversations covering everyting from AI and how it is genuinely being deployed to shifting traveler behavior, evolving business models, and the technologies and companies positioned to define the next chapter of this industry.

Staying connected has become an essential part of modern travel. Whether you're finding your hotel, booking a ride, navigating a new city, or simply letting family know you've arrived safely, reliable mobile data can make the difference between a smooth arrival and a stressful one.

In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Jo Juliana Turnbull, Senior Growth Marketing Manager at Holafly, to explore why eSIMs are quickly becoming a travel essential. Jo explains how eSIMs work in simple, practical terms, from checking if your phone is compatible and knowing when to activate your plan to answering common questions about keeping your existing phone number and how easy the setup process really is.

We were invited back to Miami for our second year as the Official Podcast Partner of Aviation Festival Americas and this one is special: it's our largest Event Spotlight episode to date, featuring 20+ interviews and over 5 hours of conversations with the incredible speakers, industry leaders and key attendees that came together to discuss the latest trends shaping aviation and airports.

Tour operators aren't just competing on the experiences they sell, they're competing on the experience they deliver behind the scenes. From the moment a traveler books to the moment they leave a review, every interaction matters.

In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Benjamin Sann, Founder & CEO of TourOptima, and Josh Halpern, Chief Commercial Officer, to explore how technology is helping tour operators simplify operations and deliver a better guest experience. They discuss the everyday challenges operators face, from flight delays and last-minute schedule changes to managing guest communications across emails, text messages, OTAs, and multiple internal systems.

Sixty thousand meetings. More than 500 international buyers. Over $100 million in future tourism business.

Dan recorded live from Rendez-vous Canada 2026 in downtown Toronto to explore what is driving Canada’s visitor economy and why the country continues to stand out as a global destination for nature, culture, and meaningful travel.

In this special episode, Dan speaks with five leaders shaping Canadian tourism today: Meaghan Ferrigno, SVP, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Destination Canada; Sébastien Benedict, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada; Vincenza Ronaldi, President and CEO of Destination Ontario; Andrew Weir, President and CEO of Destination Toronto; and Marsha Walden, President and CEO of Destination Canada, as she prepares to retire.

Payments can make or break a travel sale, yet much of the industry still treats them as behind-the-scenes infrastructure. In Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Philip Hancock, Chief Commercial Officer at Mint Payments, as the company expands into Canada.

The conversation explores what it means to build a travel-first payment service provider, from collecting customer payments and managing risk to supporting supplier payouts. Philip explains why the payment experience has become a meaningful point of difference, especially when flights, hotels, and packages can look similar across multiple channels.

Travel advisors are experiencing a resurgence, but the story goes far beyond increased bookings. As travel becomes more complex and consumers seek expert guidance, advisors are proving their value as trusted partners who can navigate disruptions, personalize experiences, and provide support when it matters most.

In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Shayna Zand, Managing Director of Host Agency Reviews, for an inside look at how the advisor industry really works and what it takes to build a successful travel business today.

Your tour business probably doesn’t have a technology problem. It has a complexity problem.

Over time, many multi-day operators add tool after tool until marketing, CRM, itineraries, payments, supplier payouts, and traveler communications all live in different places. The result is more than frustration. It creates duplicate work, missed traveler details, messy handoffs, lower conversion, and less time spent on what actually grows a travel company: serving travelers.

In this Spotlight Episode, Dan sits down with Josh Chang, Chief Product Officer at WeTravel, to unpack what tech stack overload looks like for tour operators and why the industry is moving toward more integrated platforms. They explore the hidden leaks that quietly hurt operators, from abandoned checkouts and fragmented payment methods to itinerary changes that never flow cleanly to travelers or suppliers.

Recorded live at Intrepid Travel’s Toronto headquarters during Toronto Tech Week, this special Travel Trends episode moves beyond AI hype to explore what agentic AI in travel actually looks like when it meets the complexity of the real world.

Co-hosted by Dan Christian, Host of the Travel Trends Podcast, and Christian Wolters, President Canada and GM, North America Marketing at Intrepid Travel, the discussion brings together leaders working at the front lines of AI adoption across the travel industry.

The travel industry loves to talk about innovation, but Felix Shpilman brings a sharper lens: what has actually changed in travel distribution over the past decade, and what challenges still remain unsolved.

Felix is the President and CEO of Emerging Travel Group and the driving force behind RateHawk. Joining Dan from Dubai, he shares an inside look at what it takes to build and scale one of the world's leading B2B travel platforms.

We begin with Felix’s journey into travel technology, from investing in high-growth companies to becoming an operator in one of the most complex industries in the world. From there, we explore how RateHawk emerged from ETG’s experience competing in the B2C space, revealing a much larger opportunity: helping travel advisors navigate fragmented hotel supply through a faster, more intuitive booking experience.