Virtuoso will host its fourth annual Travel Tech Summit during Virtuoso Travel Week this year. The Summit will take place Saturday, 9 August, at Bellagio Resort & Casino.Due to high demand, Virtuoso has almost doubled the capacity of this year’s Tech Summit and is expecting 500 attendees. The summit is led by tech entrepreneur, investor and Virtuoso board member Gilad Berenstein, who will open the discussion by showcasing key themes in travel technology he has been following over the past year, as well as the development of Virtuoso’s tech ecosystem.The Tech Summit format will range from presentations to panels, Q&A sessions and roundtable discussions, allowing attendees to engage with the innovators and with each other. Attendees will hear from a variety of Virtuoso advisors, partners and executives.
Betsy Grebinoski of Pique Travel, who will take the stage with Fernanda Barrence of The Trip Boutique, an AI-powered platform that assists advisors in delivering personalised recommendations. They will discuss what an “agency brain” is and why Pique is deploying one.
Dianna Rom of Windstar Cruises and Jared Shalhoub of AmaWaterways will discuss how they are using virtual reality (VR) media to evolve from static virtual tours to dynamic, multimedia-rich immersive experiences.
Kate Sullivan of Anthology Travel, an independent affiliate of Jetset World Travel, and David Shull of Tern will share how luxury travel is entering the operating system era with more unified systems to “automate the ordinary.”
Vincent Shacks of Wilderness Destinations will talk about using tech to keep lions and livestock safe in Botswana’s Okavango region, where conservation partners are using a real-time Lion Alert System powered by GPS collars and geofencing.
Paul Kearney, Virtuoso Senior Vice President, Technology, will share efforts to standardise and modernise a more collaborative travel tech environment where systems interoperate smoothly and securely.
In addition to these speakers, Virtuoso Senior Product Manager Barbara Joseph will moderate a panel of advisors, where they will discuss technology transitions and real-world lessons from navigating complex system changes.Notable speakers from outside the Virtuoso network are set to take the stage, too, including Rafat Ali, CEO and founder of Skift. In a fireside chat, Berenstein and Ali will dive into the intersection of travel technology and innovation, covering the impact of shifting geopolitics, evolving consumer behavior, workforce dynamics, demographic shifts and how these forces are influencing the travel ecosystem.In other sessions, Lisa Cain of Florida International University will discuss how AI supports high-touch service in luxury travel, while Cara Whitehall of Thayer Investment Partners and Michael Zeisser of FMZVentures will provide an investor’s perspective on what is driving the future of innovation across the travel, hospitality and real estate sectors.Lastly, the Startup Showcase will return with a handful of new businesses that are taking risks to help propel the industry forward. It will provide a deep dive into what innovation looks like in real-time, allowing attendees to be early adopters and advocates of future technologies.
