The invitation-only gathering of senior travel leaders in eCommerce, Digital Marketing and CX

06/15/2023

Digital Travel Connect is a senior-level, invitation-only networking event for senior travel leaders in eCommerce, Digital Marketing and CX. We provide high-level networking through a VIP, closed-door experience, supplemented by pre-qualified 1-1 meetings with hand-picked solution providers.

In May 2023, over 2 days we brought together 120+ Digital, eCommerce and CX professionals to the luxury venue, Sopwell House in St Albans! We hosted 14 engaging sessions to encourage benchmarking and learning from these senior peers. In addition, we offered 8 stand-alone 1-1 meeting slots; resulting in a total of 134 pre-qualified 30 minute meetings. Not just this, we also had networking experiences from our Networking Bingo to our Royal Banquet! Our senior attendees represented some of the the top airlines, hotels and OTA’s such as:

Accor, Air France KLM Group, Avis Budget Group, Booking.com, Club Med, Culture Trip, easyJet, Musement, NH Hotel Group, Radisson Hotel Group, Scandinavian Airlines, Skyscanner, Sunweb Group, The Langham, Tripadvisor, Viking, Visit Finland, The Ritz-Carlton, Enterprise, George Best Belfast City Airport

The audience breakdown at Digital Travel Connect read as follows:
  • Director - 20%
  • Head - 28%
  • Manager/CEO - 30%
  • VP/Lead/Executive - 22%

View the full list of attendees here



“2 days packed with insightful talks and inspiring speakers from across the world. Truly enjoyed my conversations on how to adapt people, processes and tech to drive innovation and ROI from digital transformation.” – Michaela Hermans, Wizz Air

Our Retailers Investment Priority

The retailers that attended Digital Travel Connect are the top decision makers and budget holders who are actively seeking new solutions. All our attendees had a minimum annual revenue of £50 million, with 37% of these having a revenue of €1 billion+. Each attendee has a personal annual budget of at least £100,000, and 19% have a personal budget of up to £10 million.

With the extensive profiling and marketing campaign that happens in the lead up to the event, you can guarantee that deals are made across the 2 days.

Here is a look at the solutions our Digital Travel Connect retailers were looking to invest in, within the following 12 months:
  • Data / Analytics - 71%
  • Personalisation - 66%
  • CX - 56%
  • Loyalty and Retention - 54%
  • CRM (Customer Relationship Management) - 52%
  • UX - 48%



An Unrivalled Speaker Faculty

Under Chatham House Rule, our 31 speakers hosted a mix of high-level strategic case studies and interactive discussions focused on the industries biggest growth priorities. Our audience was able to share their practical strategies for 2023 and beyond with a research driven agenda, focusing on understanding customer trends, mastering the latest digital tools and CX design tools, maximising the potential of new channels and much more.

Our packed agenda of 14 sessions covered pressing industry topics, such as How to provide the personal touch at scale to encourage bookings and create long-term loyalty & leading with loyalty and How can you use new marketing tools to reach new customers, build loyalty and boost your brand?

  • Stuart Birrell, Chief Data and Information Officer, easyJet
  • Roland Jaggi, Chief Commercial Officer, Aegean Airlines
  • Jo Migom, Chief Digital Officer (UK & EU) & General Manager EU, Thomas Cook
  • Mike Rawson, Chief Information Officer, CitizenM Hotel
  • Frank Rejwan, Vice President Technology, CEO Traveldoo, Expedia Group
  • José Luis Aranda Riera, Global Head of Digital Marketing, Melia Hotels
  • Beth Murrell, Director, Digital Field Marketing – UK, Ireland, & the Nordics, Marriott
  • Alessandro Rozza, Chief Research Officer and Chief Machine Learning Scientist, Lastminute.com
  • Charles Dodd, Director, European Digital Marketing, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
  • Justin Reid, Head of Media, Destinations and Growth, Tripadvisor

These are just a handful of the brilliant speakers we heard from at Digital Travel Connect 2023.

Take a look at the full speaker line up and topics discussed by downloading our agenda here


“Really enjoyed meeting everyone at this event - some great thinking and discussion.” – Mike Ferguson, RedPoint Global


Social Media was Buzzing

There was a great buzz on social media whilst Digital Travel Connect was taking place. Here’s a look at some of our favourite posts on LinkedIn: 

M. Zahid Özdoğan, Head of eCommerce, Turkish Airlines - “I want to express my gratitude to WBR for providing us with this platform to share our knowledge and experiences. It was an honour to speak alongside fellow industry experts, and I learned so much from their perspectives.”

Tamara P, Director of Digital Strategy & Optimization, Virgin Voyages - “I had the pleasure of attending WBR’s Digital Travel Connect as a speaker and an attendee. Met some awesome people, exchanged ideas and shared perspectives!”


SAVE THE DATE

Digital Travel Connect 2024: May 2024

Digital Travel Connect 2024 is already starting to take shape. Sponsorship opportunities are available now. If you want the chance to be introduced to your next client – get in touch with our team!

Get in touch here

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