“KAYAK KILLER”? Hafner, English Swap Barbs, Talk New Ventures
In the case of Kayak’s Steve Hafner and Paul English, speaking Wednesday at The Phocuswright Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, you get a dash of news, a thoughtful disagreement over the democratization of generative artificial intelligence — and a lighthearted threat of a “Kayak killer.”
First, the news. While discussing what Hafner – still Kayak’s CEO – called dissatisfaction with corporate travel tools, he used the occasion to tout the company’s business tool now geared for large corporate clients. The company partnered with Blockskye – one of the Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2024 announced this week at the conference — and PwC on a blockchain-based solution for corporate travel.