I asked readers of Travel Tech Essentialist to share which people (not brands) they consistently find valuable for travel tech-related insights on LinkedIn or X. I got 133 names across 60 entries, but a few stood out. Christian Watts topped the list of most mentioned. I also pulled engagement stats to see who’s really driving conversation. Avi Meir had the highest engagement per post, while Lennart Dobravsky led in engagement relative to audience size.
That’s just one piece of today’s newsletter. I also dig into:
– How to design travel products that resonate on an emotional level
– New research on how emotion and authenticity drives people to book
– Kayak’s $457M writedown and what it says about platform dependence
– Airbnb’s move into social connection
– YC-backed travel startups over time
If you’re building or thinking in and around travel, I think you’ll find something useful: https://lnkd.in/g4yyurb4
Mentioned in this edition includes: Nesrine Changuel, PhD, 🌏 Peter Syme 🌍, Brennen Bliss, Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, Gilad Berenstein, JoseLuis Vilar 🤓, Martin Soler, KAYAK, Expedia Group, Lenny Rachitsky, First Round Capital, Airbnb, mathias coudert, among others…
