The boss of one of the online travel brands of the moment, OYO Rooms, makes a welcomes return to Center Stage at The Phocuswright Conference 2019.
Co-founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, who revealed earlier this year that one of the companies behind a $1 billion investment round in mid-2018 is Airbnb, is moving in powerful circles these days amid claims of being the sixth largest hospitality brand on the planet.
The ambitious OYO also paid €360 million to buy European rental brand @Leisure Group in April.
His big player peers, such as Glenn Fogel at Booking Holdings, Steve Hafner from Kayak and Steve Kaufer from TripAdvisor, are three of the other major names to be announced in the first tranche of participants at this year's event in Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Eric Gnock Fah (Klook) and Johannes Reck (GetYourGuide), both with hefty investment war chests behind them in the race for supremacy in tours and activities, are also confirmed.
Vocal investors Erik Blachford and Brad Gerstner will be joined in the coming by an array of the great and the good, and perhaps a few surprises, over the coming weeks and months.
This week's release of the first names on the roster comes ahead of the deadline to secure a discount of $700 on the event's registration ticket (Friday, June 28).
Check out Agarwal's appearance on Center Stage here:
Spotlight Interview: Billion Dollar Baby - OYO
The Phocuswright Conference 2019
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Are We There Yet? The Phocuswright Conference 2019 Theme