Embark: Travel, Tech and Trust podcast series

Discover the New Performance Frontier in Travel with guest speakers Julie Shainock from Microsoft and Mike Tansey from Accenture. Get insights on creating seamless traveler experiences from inspiration to retailing, service and disruption management. Tune in to learn about the digital core, cloud, data and AI.

This episode dives deep into the world of technology and how it’s revolutionizing the travel industry. Our guests, Michael Robinson and Harish Ranganath, discuss with Emily Weiss what the latest Accenture Technology Vision Trends mean for travel executives. They unveil how generative AI, data transparency, digital identity, and science technology are transforming the travel industry.

Which actions can travel companies take to help fight human trafficking? Listen to Eliza McCoy from AHLA Foundation, Abbe Horswill from Marriott International, and Emily Weiss from Accenture, who share how executives can create awareness, identify suspicious behavior, combine technology and human ingenuity to disrupt the human trafficking chain, and provide support to survivors.

All travel companies collect a lot of data, but most don’t put it to good use. Who owns the data? And what can travelers get back in return? Listen to data experts from Lufthansa Group and Accenture as they discuss how to mine data to improve operations, revenues, and the customer experience. Learn how to address data governance challenges, get some quick wins and achieve long-term goals.

In this episode, we explore the role of technology in helping travel companies become more sustainable. Hear from our guest speakers Arielle Quick at Marriott, Virginia Messina at World Travel and Tourism Council, and Jesko Neuenburg at Accenture on the challenges, benefits, progress, and best practices of sustainability programs for travel companies.

How should travel companies structure themselves to bring the most value to customers and generate maximum revenue per traveler? One way is to operationalize digital instead of focusing on digital as a channel. Join Accenture’s Johnathan Sullivan and Padraig Connolly in a dynamic discussion of how travel companies can cross the digital-physical divide and be creative and pragmatic in product innovation.

Southwest has always done business travel differently. Hear from David Harvey, VP Southwest Business, how they’re adapting to recent changes. For one, Southwest is investing in digital to help corporate clients do omni-channel bookings that are linked to the company’s own backend. “Companies don’t want it to be a headache for expense reporting and mid and back office,” Harvey said.

A new traveler profile is emerging: the post-pandemic “bleisure” traveler. Hear from industry experts on how connected experiences will help these travelers get more of what they want: combining work and leisure, appropriate work spaces on the road, and service on-demand. Meet Gonzalo Carpintero, VP of Operations EMEA and Head of Business Transformations at Radisson, and Helen Hickson, Global Mobility Lead at Accenture, and learn how hospitality companies can embrace change in business travel. 

Today’s new traveler expects a connected journey from start to finish. From real-time bag tracking to the 60 steps it takes to turn an aircraft, we’re talking with leaders from Melbourne airport and WestJet to explore the airport of the future, what it means for employees and operations, and what can be done to move faster.

For travel companies, the next step starts here. In our first Embark episode, we’ll cover the state of the travel industry, from the new traveler and their heightened expectations, and why the race to cloud is crucial to survival.

Then, join us for a tour of how execs across the boardroom—including CMOs, CHROs, COOs and CCOs—are using cloud to adapt to change and reposition for the road ahead.