Tech Entrepreneurs Make Their Pitches at Phocuswright Show
By Danny King, Travel Weekly (U.S.) | Nov. 15, 2016
|
The 2016 Phocuswright Conference opened Monday, featuring two dozen travel technology startups delivering 6-minute pitches as part of the conference's Innovation Battleground.
Metasearch companies were among the most prevalent of the startups presented. Other companies included a group-travel platform, an aggregator of bus and train fares, and a company that enables international airline passengers to sell their allotted luggage space to people who needed to ship items abroad.
Similar to the TV show "Shark Tank," the companies presented to judges, called "Dragons," who peppered the presenters with questions about their companies' viability.
The Battleground is the first of the conference's Innovation Platform's three stages (Summit and Launch are the others).
The conference, which runs through Thursday, is expected to attract about 1,800 people, and will feature appearances by Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer and Travelocity founder Terrell Jones.