Rod Cuthbert, executive chairman, Rome2rio
Rod Cuthbert will take part in Executive Roundtable: Lessons From Asia at Phocuswright Europe.
Ahead of the event, he discusses the evolution of multi-modal booking, how Google is changing travel and why he's publicly called out TripAdvisor.
What topic should we be discussing right now, and why?
I think the most important topic in travel is being discussed: That's Google's role, i.e. their push to become an intermediary rather than a search and advertising platform. The medium and longer-term implications of that shift are potentially catastrophic for many incumbents in online travel.
If you could change one thing about how the travel industry functions, what would it be?
Two things that need constant improvement are fraud protection (boring but so very expensive and definitely not in decline) and improving the "believability" of reviews.
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Consumers are getting savvier all the time and now realize that a lot of what they read on review sites is not credible. I don't know how to solve that, but I know it's a problem.
What single piece of advice would you give a new business entering the travel industry?
Be careful. The travel industry is a graveyard - particularly online travel.
New entrants should assume that someone smarter than them, with more money and better connections, has already tried what they're doing. And that they failed. That sounds trite, but it turns out to be true eight times out of 10.
How big - if that's the right word - would you say multi-modal search can get?
The emphasis is on multi-modal booking, not search. So what's going to be "big" is the broad evolution of booking sites and apps to allow users to choose between a flight or a train or a bus - or whatever - on the same site, with the same UX. We're already seeing train booking options pop up alongside flights on major sites like Expedia and Ctrip; that's the start of the trend, and it won't stop.
You've had some choice things to say in the past about the company (TripAdvisor) that bought your previous company (Viator) - but what was your thinking behind being so public with the criticism?
Let me take off my Rome2rio hat, and put on my Viator Founder hat before I answer that! Some companies buy a business and celebrate it: They support the management, they promote the brand, they help it grow as part of their group. That's the Booking Group's approach, and to a large extent, it's the same with Expedia and Ctrip.
Be careful. The travel industry is a graveyard - particularly online travel.
Rod Cuthbert - Rome2rio
TripAdvisor has a different model, which might be appropriate for a company bought in a fire sale, but not for a well-established, well-loved, respected global brand with a superb management team. And that describes Viator.
Everything I saw and heard about TripAdvisor's actions with the Viator business pointed to them wanting to make the Viator brand disappear, and for activities to become a wholly TA business unit.
I figured if I called them out publicly they might think again. I think that's probably happened, but I suspect it's just a temporary reprieve.