Travel tech companies are generally optimistic that a second Trump presidency could be positive for business and innovation, particularly around AI.
Laura Chadwick, president and CEO of the Travel Technology Association, noted some rough spots for the industry during the first Trump administration, namely a travel ban on people from Muslim-dominated countries and efforts to defund Brand USA.
“But that was then and this is now, and I myself am feeling a bit optimistic,” she said during a session at the Phocuswright conference in November.
Among the association’s members are Amadeus, Sabre, Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, Amex GBT, and BCD Travel.
Chadwick and government affairs representatives from those companies are pushing to ensure their interests are represented in the next administration.
Decreased AI Regulation
Many in the travel tech space expect to see less regulation around AI. Some argue that too much regulation during this time of so much tech advancement could stifle innovation.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on AI, focused on concerns about safety. The Republican Party platform under Trump calls for repeal of it.
“I’m expecting this administration and Congress to really take a more light-touch approach,” said Lara Tennyson, head of U.S. federal affairs for Booking Holdings, during the session. “And I expect them to really focus on innovation, ensuring that companies of all sizes can innovate, and working to maintain U.S. strength in the AI tech space. So I think it’s a great opportunity for all of us in this room who use AI, who work with AI, to help inform their policies as they come up.”
There were nearly 700 AI-focused bills introduced at the state level last year. Emmett O’Keefe, director of government affairs for Sabre, believes that so many different laws create compliance issues for companies trying to develop new tech and that there could be a push for federal regulation to override much of the state-level laws.
Federal Privacy and Data Standards
Chadwick said legislators have been trying to set a federal standard for privacy and data for at least 10 years.
She thinks that it could finally happen under the new administration.
“I think that that’s positive for an industry that trades in personal information,” Chadwick told Skift.
The main problem has been that 20 states have different laws about the issue, which can create a difficult navigation process for travel companies that operate in multiple states.
“It could be complicated more by blue states coming in to strengthen their laws, creating a fractured approach to privacy and data security,” Chadwick told Skift. “Which, in the end, creates compliance nightmares and actually slows the pace of innovation: If so much money has to be put towards compliance measures, that money is not being directed towards R&D efforts.”
Jason Scism, founder and CEO of the startup DreamGuest, said during the session that he was forced to seek expensive legal advice to ensure he was complying with privacy laws. His startup deals with completing background checks for short-term rental guests. Scism, who also works as a lobbyist, believes the next administration will work to make information more readily available to startups.
“If I have to fill out all these forms and go jump through some hoops before I make my first dollar, it just seems a little illogical,” he said.
Support for Travel Startups
Chadwick believes there are several “key indicators” that the Trump administration will support startups.
One is that Vice President-elect J.D. Vance spent several years with investment firms in Silicon Valley. She also expects an extension of tax cuts that would benefit travel tech startups, and there could be laxer regulations around M&A.
The current U.S. Department of Justice wants Google to sell Chrome as a way to end what a federal judge said is a monopoly that stifles search. Chadwick supports the move to break up Google, and she suspects Vance will have a similar stance, though it’s unclear exactly where the next administration sits on the issue.
“That not only helps our established members, but also startups as well — those companies that find it very difficult to come in to compete with Google, or have their business model completely taken by Google,” Chadwick said.
