The Phocuswright Conference 2026 runs from 17 to 19 November at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a property the organiser calls fully renovated. The event is 12 days away.
The theme is “Pressures. Power. Pivots.” Phocuswright argues that AI, platform power, shifting traveller expectations and regulatory scrutiny are changing how trips are found and sold. For hotels, two questions follow: what each booking channel really costs, and who owns the guest.
Wednesday 18 November holds most of the programme that matters to hotel commercial teams. Here is why you should not miss this chance if you run revenue, distribution or commercial strategy for a hotel group.
1. Hilton, Highgate and Airbnb share one distribution stage
The executive panel on distribution begins at 9:35 AM EST. Its agenda: brands pushing guests to book direct, owners questioning what channels cost, platforms moving into hotel discovery and booking, the true source of incremental demand, and who ends up with the strongest guest relationship.
Chris Wilroy is Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Hilton, with global responsibility for revenue management, pricing, sales, regional marketing and distribution across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. Kerry Mack, Chief Revenue Officer of Highgate Hotels, directly oversees more than 450 properties. Lou Zameryka leads enterprise hotel supply and connectivity strategy at Airbnb and personally owns the 11-room Gateway Lodge Catskills. Chris Hemmeter, co-founder of Thayer Ventures, adds the investor view.
2. Steve Hafner on Lola and life after search
Twenty minutes earlier, at 9:15 AM EST, KAYAK co-founder Steve Hafner sits down for “What Comes After Search?” He will discuss Lola, an AI assistant he founded inside Booking Holdings that recommends and books travel, dining and experiences. He will also cover how travel and hospitality companies should prepare for the next shift in digital distribution.
With the interview and the panel back to back, one seat takes in both the technology and the commercial argument: if travellers ask an assistant instead of typing into a search box, who gets the booking?
3. Agoda’s CEO on Booking’s combined B2B push
At 5:35 PM, “Booking’s B2B Ambition” examines Booking Holdings pulling its B2B capabilities at Booking.com, Agoda and Priceline together under Omri Morgenshtern. Morgenshtern has led Agoda, part of Booking Holdings, as CEO since July 2022 and joined the company in 2014.
Hotels that depend on Asian source markets get a direct read on how a major distribution group intends to bundle supply for partners.
4. Launch puts loyalty inside AI assistants
Innovation: Launch also takes place on 18 November. Companies accepted pay US$25,000 for a nine-minute stage slot covering demo and Q&A, and compete for Travel Innovator of the Year (winner and runner-up) and People’s Choice.
Dfinitiv CEO Joseph Fitzgerald’s pitch is that AI assistants are the next big channel and loyalty programmes must sit inside them. Hotel brands that have spent years building direct-booking loyalty will want to hear that argument made.
5. A senior room and a negotiated rate
Phocuswright says 59% of its speakers are CEOs and managing directors, 55% of its audience is C-level or vice president, and the programme offers 35+ hours of networking.
Registered attendees pay US$363 a night plus tax at the Diplomat, with the US$59 nightly resort fee waived, on a two-night minimum.
Key takeaway
Hotel commercial leaders should be in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday 18 November, from Hafner’s 9:15 AM interview to the 5:35 PM Agoda session. TravHQ would watch Wilroy, Mack and Zameryka for how far each will move on channel cost, and Morgenshtern for what a joined-up Booking B2B offer means for APAC hotel supply. A group that can send a revenue lead and a distribution lead should split the sessions and compare notes that evening.
