May I get you a Coke, Sir?
The DEMOgala event went off without a hitch and the Travelfli Team (read: Dan and Elliot) single-handedly insured that nobody went thirsty. Although it was predominately a mix of service providers and exhibitors (I didn’t see a single investor all day long), we were able to collect a reasonable number of business cards from people who want to use our product.
I had a great time on the travel panel, and it was interesting to meet some local folks in the travel industry, including Mark Schroeder of HomeAndAbroad and Jeff Potter of Exclusive Resorts. I was hugely envious of JR Johnson, who just sold Virtual Tourist to TripAdvisor and is sitting pretty now! The topics on the panel ranged from how the current state of the economy is affecting travel and how the social web is impacting travel. The panel members had a positive outlook on the impact of the economy on travel. The consensus seemed to be that even in rough times people will still travel and there are opportunities for companies that can capitalize on their current travel needs (affordable vacas, closer to home, etc). I touched on three major opportunities for Travelfli that are directly tied to the economic slowdown.
- There is no better time to start a company that helps travelers utilize the alternate form of currency found in their loyalty programs. Now more than ever before, travelers are looking for any way to save money and lesson the pain of escalating travel costs and additional fees imposed by the airlines.
- The airlines are just trying to stay afloat since the price of oil has been so high in recent months that they are unable to remain profitable. For this reason, they are receptive to economical forms of distribution and new ways to add incremental revenue.
- There is an abundance of intellectual capital this is now available on the market as companies (particularly in the airline industry for Travelfli) are forced to lay off some of their best employees because they cannot afford to keep them. Smaller, more innovative companies will benefit from this trend because they will be able to offer higher compensation and equity options to potential employees.
A quick note to attendees of DEMOgala in ‘09 - things don’t get popping until about 5:00 in the evening. So attend the panels that interest you, get some work done elsewhere, and plan on attending the reception from 5-7:00. This would have been the most effective use of our time. Instead it just seemed like a really long day. Oh well…next year….
Yes, folks - these are the real deal….Frontier bev carts compliments of Mr. Dan Vorlage and his connections at the airline….
