Beating 'booking burnout' and achieving double-digit revenue growth.

Event overview:

2026 trends: High Demand vs. Booking Burnout

The 2026 travel landscape presents a unique challenge. While travel demand is high, recent YouGov data reveals that 71% of travellers now find the online booking process "overwhelming" or "stressful." In a price-sensitive climate, this digital friction is a silent revenue killer, often funnelling guests away from high-margin direct channels and toward third-party platforms.

The question for travel leaders is how to bridge this gap. How can brands move beyond acquisition spend to capture the revenue growth that is already there?
What we’re discussing:

• The Reality of the Market: An honest look at the friction points identified in the latest YouGov research and how they are impacting commercial performance this year.
• Overcoming the Barriers to Growth: A discussion on the practical ways brands are simplifying the path to purchase to reclaim their direct margins.
• Lessons from Industry Leaders: Hearing from those who have successfully navigated these challenges on the strategies they’ve used to deliver results—and what they are planning next.
• Aligning with Purchasing Intent: How to ensure the digital experience matches the specific motivations and needs of today’s travelers to drive record commercial growth.

What you'll get:

• Clarity on where your biggest conversion gains are and the operational causes behind the drop-off.
• Case studies from Hilton (Landing Page Builder 2.0) and Best Western (franchise consistency).
• A practical method for identifying friction points and a roadmap for strengthening retention while reducing costs ahead of 2026.

Who Should Attend:

This session is designed for CMOs, Digital Directors, and Commercial Leaders in the travel space who want to hear how their peers are overcoming market friction to drive growth.

Our panel

• Chris Bowling, Head of Digital, Best Western Chris led the digital strategy that delivered a 32% YoY revenue surge and a 20% conversion uplift for BWH Hotels. He will share how they re-engineered the guest journey to better match traveler behaviour and his focus for the year ahead.
• Joanne Wiggan, Marketing Director, Red Sea Global A senior leader with 20+ years across global brands, specialising in brand strategy, sports marketing and digital experiences. Joanne knows what it takes to build demand and remove friction across end-to-end journeys, from inspiration to direct booking.
• Marcello Pasqualucci is a Digital Leader and AI enthusiast with 15+ years of experience at Sky, HSBC, and Yum! Brands. He combines commercial strategy with technical expertise to deliver massive scale, including a $9M revenue uplift for Pizza Hut and scaling HSBC’s optimisation program to 1,000+ tests. Marcello focuses on turning traffic into revenue through aggressive experimentation and AI-driven innovation.
• Finally, this will all be brought together by our host Andy Curry, Strategy Director at 383 Group & LION+MASON. He has two decades of experience, building complex digital journeys that have the user at the heart. Andy will guide the conversation with a sharp eye on where booking journeys fall and what helps travellers feel confident enough to book direct.