Powering Travel

Powering Travel is an audio platform brought to you by Expedia Group. You can expect to hear travel industry experts speaking about topics ranging from travel trends and research data to tools and solutions that will change the way you approach your business. Each episode shares actionable tips to help industry leaders stay current and ultimately benefit the entire travel ecosystem—from CEOs to everyday travelers. Powering Travel is produced by Expedia Group in association with Quill. Learn more at https://partner.expediagroup.com/en-us/resources/podcast.

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Episodes

Season 2 Trailer

Have you heard of the term “revenge travel”? How about “flexcation”? Or even a “nothing-cation”? There are so many ways to travel that we’re literally creating words to describe it! Welcome to season two of the Powering Travel podcast, brought to you by Expedia Group. In each episode, host Brandon Ehrhardt, Senior Director of Partner Programs at Expedia, and regular guest co-hosts are joined by a different travel leader who is creating a big impact on the industry. From TV-inspired wanderlust to...

Apr 12, 2023•50 sec0

A Wild Ride! How The Car Rental Industry Has Shifted Gears During The Pandemic

In the last episode of season one, Sally and Brandon discuss an area of the travel industry that has been on the rise over the pandemic: rental cars. As many travelers are still looking to travel closer to home, the rental car market has seen a huge surge in popularity. To help inform their discussion, they’re joined by Ricardo Casco, the Vice President of International and Online Travel Sales for Avis Budget Group. In his role, Ricardo oversees the company’s initiative to generate and grow busi...

Jul 27, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 6

How Traveler Demand Impacts Airline Network Planning

In this episode, hosts Brandon and Sally go behind the scenes of air travel to explore the details around flight paths and route selections for airlines. Air travel is one of the most important aspects of the full trip funnel because it impacts the travel industry at large, including the way hospitality partners adapt to the changing landscape of travel transport. They sit down with the director for Atlantic/Hawaii Network Planning at United Airlines, Darren Scott, who shares his expert perspect...

Jul 13, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5

How Partnering with Influencers Can Benefit Your Brand

In this episode, hosts Brandon and Sally cover a topic that can help take traditional marketing strategies to the next level, but one which is often misunderstood: influencer partnerships. To learn more about the nature of influencer marketing for travel brands, Sally sits down with guest Jade Broadus, the Vice President and Creative Director at Travel Mindset, a niche marketing agency that specializes in influencer marketing for the tourism and lifestyle industry. In addition to her role at Tra...

Jun 29, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Travelers Expect Customized Experiences — Here’s How to Deliver

When the pandemic hit back in 2020, diehard sports and music fans everywhere lost an important outlet for positive mental health and happiness. With live entertainment on pause, many people felt like they had lost a piece of themselves, so when in-person events finally came back, the industry had the opportunity to capitalize on two years’ worth of pent-up demand. In this episode, Sally and Brandon discuss the return of live entertainment and large-scale events like Coachella and Stagecoach, exp...

Jun 15, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Why Sustainability Means the World to Travelers

As the threat of climate change looms, sustainability has become a major priority for travelers. In fact, according to a recent global survey from Expedia Group , nearly two-thirds or 59% of travelers indicated they were willing to spend more to make a trip sustainable, which is on par with results from last summer. In this episode, Brandon and Sally sit down with Peter DeBrine, Destination Advisor and UNESCO sustainable tourism expert, to discuss strategies for hotels and travel providers hopin...

Jun 01, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 2

From Surviving to Thriving: A New Chapter for the Hospitality Industry

In the first episode of Powering Travel, hosts Brandon Ehrhardt and Sally Smith sit down with Dennis Schaal, the founding and executive editor of Skift. As a news publication dedicated to sharing travel industry happenings, Skift is tapped into the latest and greatest tips, trends and updates for hospitality professionals around the world. Dennis has been covering the travel sector and interviewing its leaders for more than 20 years, and in 2016, he wrote The Definitive Oral History of Online Tr...

May 18, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Your Powering Travel Itinerary

The guest list is filling up and the dates have been set. Powering Travel is a new podcast brought to you by Expedia Group. Meet hosts Brandon Ehrhardt, Senior Director of Partner Programs and Sally Smith, Senior Director of Market Management.This show is welcoming travel industry leaders to share their best-kept secrets, hard-earned hospitality tips and bold predictions on where the industry is headed next. From sustainability to social media influencers, the travel industry is in for a revival...

Apr 20, 2022•2 min0

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