Deal Day 2009
YOU CANNOT MISS DEAL DAY.
Getting back to basics—everyone knows that the real reason to attend a conference is to create connections and make
deals. Coffee breaks and after-parties are great, but business leaders attend The PhoCusWright Conference to engage with
more partners, more suppliers, more prospects, more customers…than anywhere else. That is what Deal Day is all about.
All PhoCusWright Conference tickets include Deal Day and the opportunities it holds.
WORKSHOPS
Learn about the future trends and products most likely affecting your business. Workshops will be presented by:
View the workshop descriptions below.
EXHIBITOR SHOWCASE
Connect with current partners and providers, establish new relationships, cultivate leads and meet diverse companies face-to-face on the exhibitor floor.
INNOVATOR SHOWCASE
Dig deeper into innovations from The Travel Innovation Summit. Each innovator has a dedicated
space to demonstrate its applications, conduct meetings and get deals done.
CENTER STAGE GENERAL SESSION
Starting with Philip Wolf's opening monologue at 4:00 pm sharp, all attendees have access to two dynamic hours featuring last year’s Travel Innovation Summit finalists, the new Travelocity and Orbitz
CEOs and “The Return of the Hotels.com Founder.”
View the program to see Wednesday's program details.
WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT
The four Travel Innovation Summit finalists will be announced Wednesday afternoon.
These companies fill the Five Minutes of Fame segments during Center Stage@The PhoCusWright Conference on Thursday,
where an ultimate winner will be selected by a blue ribbon panel of travel industry representatives.
CONFERENCE CONNECT
Contact fellow attendees online to plan meetings before, during and after the conference.
MEETINGS
Deal Day is the perfect time and place to conduct meetings with those on your “must meet” list.
There are millions of dollars on the table at Deal Day—get in on the action!
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS (more to come!)
STRATEGIES FOR TARGETING "IN-MARKET" TRAVEL SHOPPERS
Presented by Akamai Technologies
The majority of online display advertising spend continues to target general consumers. However, what if there was a predictive ad-targeting solution that focused only on shoppers that are "in-market" for the travel industry? Join Pedro Santos from Akamai to learn about the reality of in-market shopping and how to identify and reach shoppers with a high propensity to buy what you sell. Explore examples of how travel companies locate online consumers who are in-market for travel-related items—including airfare, hotel stays, vacation packages and travel gear—to drive incremental sales to their Web sites. Akamai discusses the predictive ad-targeting solutions that are available today and how the solutions work. Learn how you can use a wealth of actual online shopping data, shared by many online travel and economic companies, to determine what shoppers are in-market for and how to place your online display ads where your buying audiences will see them.
Presenter: Pedro Santos, Chief Strategist, E-Commerce
TRAVEL AND CONSUMER ELASTICITY
Presented by Compete Inc.
The recession has impacted all industries at historic levels. Discretionary spend industries—such as travel—have been impacted more. With signs of a recovery, the unknown is what Compete calls "consumer elasticity." This refers to the extent to which consumers bounce back to pre-recession behaviors and when. In general, the longer and deeper a recession, the less likely the rebound. Given the magnitude of the recession—and that this is the first of this depth in the digital age—there are no benchmarks for this recovery. Compete reveals how the recession has impacted consumer behavior across and within the industry, the signs of recovery already evident in its intelligence, as well as set expectations for the recovery.
Presenter: Lincoln Merrihew, Managing Director, Travel, Compete Inc.
EXPLORING THE LODGING RECOVERY
Presented by
PhoCusWright's Financial Edition
Sponsored by Cornell Center for Hospitality Research 
An in-depth look at supply and demand trends during 2009-2012 timeframe, including a recovery timeline and key milestones, such as:
- Tight credit markets should yield multi-year depression in hotel construction activity.
- Demand should recover with GDP, but tends to lag because of exposure to corporate/group business.
- Occupancy returns to normal in late 2010, and pricing power reemerges in 2011.
How will these factors affect the distribution channels? Discussion includes topics such as:
- The counter-cyclical OTA-hotel chain relationship.
- What happens to online distribution when hotel occupancy hits the mid-60s?
- Will rate recovery be even across channels?
Presenters:
Jake Fuller, Senior Research Analyst, Finance and Analytics, PhoCusWright Inc.
William Carroll, Senior Hotel and Lodging Analyst, PhoCusWright Inc. and Senior Lecturer, Cornell
University School of Hotel Administration
Chris Anderson, Assistant Professor, Cornell
University School of Hotel Administration
GOING BEYOND THE BANNER AD: BREAKING THROUGH THE ONLINE AD CLUTTER
Presented by
Expedia Media Solutions
With an oversupply in online advertising and click-through rates are at an all-time low, how can destinations and hotels break through the clutter to connect with the millions of consumers who are shopping, researching and booking travel online? Global vice president of Expedia Media Solutions—the advertising sales division of Expedia Inc.—leads a session on new approaches to online advertising that go beyond the traditional display ads and utilize more of the Web’s interactive potential. Through compelling data from the world’s leading online travel company and video testimonials from leading travel marketers, learn how your destination or hotel property can integrate this rich, creative and relevant ad content into marketing strategies. Explore how to develop a deeper and more meaningful connection with consumers and convert online shoppers into travel bookers.
Presenter: Doug Miller, Global Vice President, Expedia Media Solutions
EXPERIAN HITWISE UNIVERSITY LIVE: CONNECTION WITH CUSTOMERS
Presented by Experian Hitwise
The recession has made one thing abundantly clear: reaching the right customers always needs to be top of mind, even while focusing on the challenge of driving revenues when consumers opt to stay home and reduce their travel spending. Relevancy remains key for travel content and service offerings online and there is no shortage of options to choose for distribution. Timing is also everything since customer interactions will vary based upon the task at hand. Discuss effective approaches to:
- Using social media to communicate and interact with customers.
- Finding the best advertisers for your Web site to offer relevant messages.
- Staying ahead of seasonal trends to react quickly in the marketplace.
Presenters:
Heather Dougherty, Director of Research, Experian Hitwise—Host
Rick Seaney, CEO, FareCompare—Guest Speaker
GLOBAL FRAUD: SPOTTING FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY AND ORGANIZED CRIME 
Presented by iovation Inc.
Every Internet-enabled PC is a potential weapon for identity theft and online fraud.Learn from the experts on how to spot fraudulent activity.What used to be a simple case of scammers and repeat offenders, executing individual credit card theft has grown into a multi-billion dollar a year industry dominated by organized criminals masterminding complex fraud schemes.
Presenter: Cory Swick, Head of Fraud Investigations, iovation Inc.
PHOCUSWRIGHT ANALYST TOWN HALL
Presented by PhoCusWright Research
Join PhoCusWright analysts in an open discussion about global market trends, consumer behavior/generation gaps, the future of online travel agencies (OTAs) and metasearch, the outlook for 2009 and beyond, and more. Share key insights into the future of travel as PhoCusWright unveils findings from its latest market-sizing forecasts. Has the U.S. reached market saturation? What generational trends will impact the growth trajectory of OTAs vs. supplier-direct sites? Is China really the next big travel opportunity? Will Europe see further consolidation? Tell us what you think! Ask questions and share your views on the travel marketplace in this informal setting featuring open discussion and debate—supported by PhoCusWright Research.
Presenters:
Ram Badrinathan, General Manager, Asia Pacific, PhoCusWright Inc.
Douglas Quinby, Senior Director, Research, PhoCusWright Inc.
Carroll Rheem, Director, Research, PhoCusWright Inc.
Lorraine Sileo, Vice President, Research, PhoCusWright Inc.
A COMPELLING CASE STUDY IN SOCIAL-MEDIA MARKETING
Presented by PhoCusWright Inc.
Tourism Queensland’s “The Best Job in the World” represents one of the most creative and successful destination marketing campaigns using the social Web. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have developed far beyond buzzwords. These global social networks are gaining consumer attention with phenomenal adoption rates. Over 120 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day and spend 5 billion minutes on the site. The time travelers spend using new social media continues to grow while old mainstream media usage is dwindling. Social tools influence how people search, shop and buy travel. The path is clear: more marketing funds must be shifted online. Learn how one DMO found a recipe for success.
Presenter: Chris Chambers, Director of Digital Marketing, Tourism Queensland
Moderated by: Cees Bosselaar, Director, Business Development, PhoCusWright Inc.
THE BATTLE FOR SMART TRIP PLANNING 
Presented by PhoCusWright Connect
The “Perfect Storm”—the theme of the 2008 PhoCusWright Conference—has not passed. If it seems quiet, it may well be because we are in the eye of the storm. Recent polls show growing customer dissatisfaction with the researching, planning and shopping experience for travel destinations. Major travel players and DMOs are not addressing this important issue fast enough, creating significant opportunities for innovative start-ups. Capitalizing on new technologies is the key. Will DMOs and others respond with investments in their Web sites, partnerships or co-opetition? An expert panel discusses how to improve the research, planning and shopping experience offered by your destination Web site.
Presenters:
Laura Castillo, Account Manager, Google Inc.
Robert K. Cole, Founder, RockCheetah
Yen Lee, President and Co-Founder, UpTake Networks Inc.
Kevin Fleiss, Co-Founder, TravelMuse Inc.
Moderated by: Joseph E. Buhler, Senior Destination Marketing and Social Media Analyst, PhoCusWright Inc.
CHANNELING THE INCREASINGLY POWERFUL ONLINE CUSTOMER
Presented by Tealeaf
The online travel consumer faces a myriad of pricing and packaging options; with so many choices, consumer loyalty often changes on a dime. Poor experiences, even when small, can result in a quick click to a competitor’s site and worse—the loss of consideration for future business. In such an immensely competitive and intertwined online environment, it is essential to have complete visibility into the online customer experience. Join Joe Megibow, vice president, global analytics and optimization at Expedia, as he discusses how to use customer behavior analysis to improve Web site optimization. Learn how to maximize revenue and increase loyalty by improving customer experience.
Presenters:
John Dawes, Vice President of Product Management, Tealeaf Technology Inc.
Joe Megibow, Vice President, Global Analytics and Optimization, Expedia
BLOGGERS SUMMIT TOWN HALL 
Presented by Tips From The T-List
Join the panel in an interactive, town hall environment to discuss community building, the blending of blogging and journalism, how not to lose control of your brand with social media, whether using social media is about selling products or about building a community, how social-media marketing fits into your overall marketing plan, and (if there’s time!) more.
Panelists:
Kevin May, Editor, Tnooz
Dennis Schaal, North American Reporter for Tnooz, Blogger and Research Analyst, PhoCusWright Inc.
Joe Buhler, Blogger and Senior Destination Marketing and Social Media Consultant, PhoCusWright Inc.
Elliott Ng, Co-Founder, UpTake Networks Inc.
Moderated by: Stephen Joyce, Publisher, Tips from the T-List and Co-Founder and CEO, Sentias Software Corporation
HOSPITALITY SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING: THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL DISRUPTION
Presented by TravelCLICK
As the Internet continues to grow at an exponential rate, how can search technology keep up with the Web's explosive expansion? How can hotels compete in this increasingly unstable environment? The addition of millions of new Web site pages each year is straining and disrupting a once-steady system and changing what we thought were the golden rules of search. Explore key issues that hoteliers must consider in the years ahead to compete and win online, including:
- What is the current state of search technology?
- How are major search engines balancing the new challenges to improve coverage and relevance of their display results while maximizing advertising revenue?
- How does emerging competition from metasearch engines and social-media networks affect hoteliers' search strategies?
- What effect do these new channels and their new search paradigms have on hotels as an increasingly complex array of distribution choices are considered?
- What can hotels do today to cost-effectively improve their search-engine placement results for both organic and paid listings?
- How will the search marketing landscape shift in the next five to ten years—and how can hoteliers prepare to compete in the new order of the digital world?
Presenter: John Hach, Vice President Media and Industry Relations, TravelCLICK
VIDEO IN TRAVEL: "THE SHOP, EXPERIENCE, BUY" PHENOMENON
Presented by TripTelevision
The newest frontier for the online travel marketer is video. When you consider that YouTube is now the second-most popular search engine in the world, it tells you how today’s consumers search, view and respond. How will you address the growing demand for video among travelers? How can you attract and engage the online consumer? Video production, syndication, mobile applications, social-media distribution and the different player technologies that are available for implementing a video platform are explored. It will also include syndication, video monetization and statistical analysis of content views, including the results of TripTelevision’s recent “Prove It” campaign, offering “real-world” metrics. Learn how to create an experiential sale through the implementation of a successful video marketing strategy!
Presenters:
Kulin Strimbu, President and CEO
Christopher Chong, Vice President, Sales and Marketing
