Travel Buddy with Switchfly

Where is everyone actually going this summer, and how do we know? In this episode, Rachel Satow and Ian Andersen break down the data behind 2026’s hottest travel destinations.

We look at what Switchfly booking data, Condé Nast, Fora, and Amex Travel all agree on, why Southern Europe is seeing a dip, how AI is (and isn’t) changing the way people plan trips, and what all of this means for loyalty and rewards program managers heading into peak travel season.

Chapters
(00:00) Intro: Why summer travel trends matter for loyalty program managers
(01:10) How Switchfly cross-references booking data with Condé Nast, Fora, and Amex
(03:50) America 250 and the surge in domestic historic travel (DC, Philly, Boston)
(05:02) International airfare down 10% YoY — what's driving the Southern Europe dip
(08:19) AI trip planning and the off-the-beaten-path paradox
(21:51) Bleisure travel and remote work: how the workforce is reshaping trips
(26:01) On-the-ground insights from Switchfly's travel advisor head of sales
(31:55) Influencers are paid — why you should cross-check every source
(38:16) What all of this means for loyalty and rewards program managers

Resources

Connect with Switchfly
Website: https://www.switchfly.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/switchfly/
X: https://twitter.com/switchfly
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SwitchflyOfficial

Creators and Guests

Host
Ian Andersen
Demand Gen & Marketing Operations Manager
Host
Rachel Satow
Senior Marketing Strategist

What is Travel Buddy with Switchfly?

See more at Switchfly.com

Welcome to Travel Buddy,
presented by Switchfly.

In this podcast, we talk about all
things travel, rewards, and loyalty.

Let's get to it.

Brandon Giella: Where we

were, I found with her friend.

vacationing.

Everybody is currently planning or
has planned their summer travel.

I know Ian's got some coming up.

We might talk about.

So how do these trendy places that
people are traveling and putting on

their calendars, how do they get there?

There's a lot of, you know, if you
Google Where should I go this summer?

Or where are people going this summer?

Especially for you loyalty and program
managers out there who are designing

some of these programs for travelers.

are people going?

How do you know?

And so there's lots of
publications out there.

There's Conde Nas, there's fora, there's
of course Switch Fly data that you guys

present some really amazing stuff on your.

Website about, but how does
it get there and what's real?

Is it just trendy for trendy's
sake or is it really where

actually people are traveling?

So Rachel, I'll turn it
over to you real quick.

what are some trends you're noticing
and how does that data get there?

What do you guys look at when you're
thinking about what is the popular

destination for summer travel?

Rachel Satow: No, that's a great question.

so obviously we have switch fly
data that we take a look at.

and then we, like everyone else when
planning our own travel, take a look

at other publications con and asked
for a, Amex put out a another top.

Destinations report as well.

and I think, you know, specifically for
this conversation, we took a look at

what is at the junction of all of them.

like what is, what is
the overlap of these?

And it's important to note that like
for a, has their top destinations based

off of their booking data switch, Y has.

Our booking data, Conde Nast uses,
you know, reviews and surveys

that help kind of gather the top
destinations of where people are going.

so all of these different.

Publications and different booking
platforms have different sources of data.

And the reason we took the approach
to kind of take a look at all of them

is because we wanted to boil down,
okay, where are people really going?

Where across all of these
different sources, all of

this different booking data.

Where are people really going?

so for 2026, we saw a couple
of intersections between

all of these publications.

And the, the, the, the big theme is that
people are moving primarily from cities

into secondary or regional exploration.

this is showing up as recommendations
across those publications and

booking data, in places like Panama.

Morocco or lesser known,
Japan was a popular one.

and some of the other mountain
destinations were, were really

overlapping between Amex, Conde
Nast Switch flight data and fora.

and what this means when I take a
look at it is that people are really

focusing on immersion and experiences
that feel personal and lesser.

So like, I want to go.

Look at the Eiffel Tower, which don't
get me wrong, Paris is wonderful.

You love Paris.

In the, in the infamous words of Audrey
Hepburn, Paris is always a good idea.

but

Brandon Giella: I have a

Rachel Satow: for,

Brandon Giella: that.

Yes, love

Rachel Satow: so really though what
we're seeing for summer of 2026 is

that there's a focus on this immersion
and experiences that feel really

personal, or unique, that no one else
is going to be able to experience them.

so a lot of that off the beaten
path and nature destinations

being incorporated as well, like.

The Himalayas, Costa Rica,
Patagonia, things that are a little

bit more outside of the norm are,
are coming into play a lot here.

one of the other things that
is pretty unique for this year

is that it is America two 50.

And, regardless of, of what's
going on, there is still a pretty

heavy uptick in travel around
July 4th, especially in America.

And.

We're seeing a lot of summer travel
specifically to historic cities,

so Philly, DC, Boston, the historic
triangle as it's referred to in

Virginia, which is Williamsburg,
Jamestown, Yorktown, really focusing on.

July.

and one of the things that I thought
was fascinating was Hotel Planner

actually reported that there's a 108%
increase in hotel bookings for July 4th

weekend over last year, which shows that
despite, you know, what may, may or may

not be going on in the world, people
are, are still wanting to travel to

celebrate this, and, and take advantage
of some of the events that are going on.

Brandon Giella: If you know
what that means is fewer people

are gonna be traveling to Paris

because they're gonna be going to Philly.

Rachel Satow: must be a great I is Paris
becoming an off the beam path This.

Ian Andersen: So something when I
was kind of poking around looking

at some of the data that that.

Is showing up is exactly that, that,
international airfare out of the US

right now is down 10%, year over year.

It, and a lot of Southern Europe,

travel destinations are seeing
a decrease as well, due to.

A whole host of factors, but like,
things like, the, the cool occasions,

right to people don't necessarily
want to go to somewhere hot.

so you see northern tra, Northern
Europe getting a little bit of an

uptick, but the, the sort of the.

Historically popular Southern European
destinations aren't as, aren't as

popular this year, at least not so far.

I think, there's, there's
a few kind of main reasons.

The, the, you know, oil prices are
obviously higher at the moment than

they have been, over the last few years.

there's a lot of uncertainty around that.

a lot of political certainty,
uncertainty in general.

I think that's, that's driving some
of this as well as, just locally

in places like Spain and Italy.

There, there are some.

Internal pressures
against, foreign tourism.

Right.

there's been some laws passed in Spain
around, who can and cannot, Use their

home for like Airbnb purposes and, and
things like that to really try to decrease

some of the tourism in some areas.

and I think that's kind of causing a lot
of people to maybe, drift away from some

of those more, popular, historically
popular spots, to some of the places

that, like Rachel was mentioning.

but yeah, just sort of

um.

Southern Europe is kind of less
popular this year, at least so

far than it has been historically.

and I think, you know, that might be a
trend that continues at least for, this

year and maybe even going in the next
couple of years depending on kind of how

a lot of different factors shake out.

Brandon Giella: Yeah.

Yeah.

I, I think, a lot of things that driving
some of these trends, but I wonder if, you

know, maybe anecdotally, Is driving some
of these trends because maybe the kids

these days would call it travel maxing.

You know, you're looking for something
unique and like, Hey, I'm doing this

thing that's off the beaten path.

But also like AI and some of
these other tools are probably

giving more creative ideas that
people haven't considered before.

And also like, well, if I've
got a travel guide in my pocket.

Then I, maybe I don't need to
stick to the most, you know, travel

destinations around the world.

I can actually I can find my own way,
you know, I can get a translator on my

phone or whatever if I get stuck and,
you know, just kind of unlocking some of

these, these ideas for folks for, for,

traveling.

Rachel Satow: Yeah, I mean, to your
point regarding, you know, using other

sources like ai, etc to help plan.

Trips.

One word of caution I would still
put out for Travelers is that.

Google, LLMs, etc they, it it doesn't
matter what your query is, they are

still going to surface the thing that
has the highest rankings because that's

where information is being pulled from.

It's pulling from people who are optimized
the most to two rank in those things.

So in reality, you may be trying to
find something that's super off the

beaten path but at the end of the
day, it's still going to serve you.

What is ranking the highest?

and I know you got into this
conversation on our last episode

with Kerry regarding AI and travel
and, and spontaneity in particular.

And, so I would just as a word of caution,
if you are really looking for the off

the beaten path, AI is a good resource
to help plan things, but, make sure

you're still leaving some wiggle room
to actually experience the destination.

Brandon Giella: Right.

That's right.

is always a good idea,

Ian Andersen: Fair.

Rachel Satow: Paris is always a good idea.

Ian Andersen: That's,
that's a great point.

I think.

so, so 20 plus years ago, 25, 30 years
ago, we started seeing this dramatic

reduction in travel agent industry, right?

as the internet became more and more
common to use, You know, there was a

pretty much direct correlation between
the sort of decline in number of

travel agents and, the increase in,
being able to do much of that yourself

right through, through, Google and,
and price line and Switch fly and all

the other, travel booking platforms.

I think ai, what AI is going to help do
is be able to increase the personalized

nature of travel agents, but self-serving.

Right.

We, you're totally right, Rachel.

Like, anything on the internet,
it's, it's really hard to.

Get to the bottom of like, whatever
topic you're searching in this

case, like the least or, or lesser
traveled destinations just because

there's less information about it.

Right.

so it's a little self-defeating.

but with ai, and I'm, I'm sure, you
know, we do, we do this internally

with Switch fly as far as using
AI to, Provide recommendations

to people based on, personalized
interests and things like that.

I'm sure those tools are just gonna
get more and more, complex and be able

to, to weed out a lot of that, kind
of influencer led, You know, stuff

that ranks really highly just because
they're professionals who do this daily

and, and know how, how to do that.

so I, do have hope that AI will be
able to of provide people a little

bit more personalized, experiences
and, and to the point of like

find lesser travel destinations.

You know, you see that a lot with.

kind of, any kind of search, Just in
general, if you're, you're doing a

search or for travel right now, there
are a lot of places, as the internet

has gotten more ubiquitous and AI's
taking over, there are a lot of places

that, you know, probably 10 years ago
you weren't necessarily hearing about.

but because of things like
Instagram and, and Twitter and,

or sorry, X and all the others,

Brandon Giella: Yeah,

Ian Andersen: you know,
somewhere out of the way a.

You know, bed and breakfast that's
off the beaten path is able to kind of

their name and face out there, maybe
in ways they weren't able to before.

you know, so, so i, I think we'll,
we'll still see that, continue and,

and hopefully, democratize the, the
travel experience a little bit more.

Brandon Giella: that's right.

That's right.

I could see the argument that.

You know, ai, this is
the last thing I'll say.

We don't have to talk about AI the whole
time, but, is that, you know, it, it

makes a normal distribution of data.

So if you've got a ton of data, it's
always gonna go for the most average

thing because it's just statistically
guessing the next most likely word.

but the edge that it would have
is that it could know a lot

of personal context about you.

And so if I were to use
Claude in a particular way to

search for travel, it knows.

I've been talking to it for two years.

You know, it's got all this memory
associated with me, so it could maybe

suggest some things that might be a little

unusual that I wouldn't think of myself.

Ian Andersen: Yeah.

And as, as people get more functionally
literate with it, you know, you

can develop your own, projects and
GPTs and, and whatever, and you can

guide it to focus on more of those,
those, bottom of the bell curve.

Data points.

So, I definitely think there's,
there's some pretty cool stuff

coming as far as like travel
related recommendation and things.

I will say one, one more thing, before
we move on to the next point of.

There's a reason.

Places like Southern France and
The Bahamas and you know, Tokyo

and, you know, certain places are
most highest traveled to locations.

always.

And it's because they're really
nice, you know, and they have

a lot of really nice stuff for.

wanting to go, go adventure,
to go see something.

So

Brandon Giella: something for

Ian Andersen: don't count out like
common commonly visited places.

Like there's a reason
they're commonly visited.

Right.

I think that can get a little,
get, and this is totally.

Like personal anecdotal of,
just like personal preference.

I get kind of annoyed at times of
like, I get those videos that pop

up that are like, oh, this little
hidden whatever out of the way.

I am like, well, I'm going to,
'cause I wanna look at the coliseum.

Like, I'm not, I'm not going for,
like, I can find a nice little

bed and breakfast that nobody goes
to within an hour of my house.

You know, like, I'm sure it's beautiful,
I'm sure it's fun, but when I'm

vacationing I kinda want the like big
cool stuff that makes my life, you know,

Brandon Giella: That's

Ian Andersen: and is fun to do.

So, you know, don't always, you don't
always have to to go off the beaten path.

Rachel Satow: Yeah, I.

Brandon Giella: economists maximizing

Ian Andersen: Yeah,

Brandon Giella: value that we
have in our tiny little trips.

Ian Andersen: exactly.

Rachel Satow: Yeah,

Well, I mean, Ian, you bring up a
really good point about like why are

the hotspots that are on the fora, Conde
Nast Amex lists, why are they there?

outside of like booking data and
everything, the things that we see.

No matter the year, no matter what's
going on, is that, to your point,

Southern Europe, Japan, Northern
Europe, et cetera, these, these hubs

of travel are still there and they're
still, you know, taking a nice chunk

of the share of, travel for the next,
you know, for summer in particular.

But, it's.

Not just because there are people
like you and me who want to go like,

go see history and, and like the most
accessible history that exists for us.

but it also comes into play.

They, they're on the
hotspot list because of.

Things like currency exchanges are
simpler or flight accessibility

or, you know, social media.

We, we can get back to the influencer
comment you made earlier, Brandon, but

like, or social media amplification is
like when you think of a city, we'll use

Rome because you're going to, to Italy.

when you use the idea of like Rome,
there, you know, you're going to be

able to find a reliable flight there.

There's, it's got the infrastructure
in place to be able to support.

Travel in and out of the city, but also to
support some of that tourism that exists.

And there is that, like, this is
a, a horrible way to say it, but

like the underbelly of it where.

You are seeing a rise in social
media influencers at the hotspots

telling you the secret things
that exist around that area.

So like I think there's still
a level of, of encouraging an

off the beaten path experience.

Even if you're going to a hub,
because it, it just, that's the theme

that everybody is, is leaning into
in order to create a personalized

experience for their, for their trip.

but I think there's a lot of other
factors that exist, like just

simply accessibility to a point.

When you think about the idea of
an international traveler, going to

another country that speaks a different
language is an intimidating factor,

and if they can rely on the fact that
they can get in and out of the city

very simply without needing to take
additional transport somewhere else.

That makes these, these syn, these,
locations a little bit more attractive

for them to stay on the hot list.

and then those who are looking
for something a little bit more

intimate can always, you know, be a
little courageous and take the train

further out, or take rent a car.

I know, Ian, you're doing that, so like
there's still that opportunity for.

For still seeing the, the, the more
personalized experience of, of, you

know, aroma Japan, of Paris or whatever.

and that's why we're still seeing them
on the hot list alongside some of these

other newer, lesser traveled places.

Ian Andersen: I think there's, there's
like that's a excellent point of like.

not only are these places popular
because they're beautiful and historic

and whatever, they've just been refined
over generations of tourism to be

optimized for people to go to, you
know, the language and currency thing.

A great example, if I'm going
to Europe, I know I'm gonna

need euros and that's it, right?

Like that's, I can go to any
bank around here and get a,

a stack of euros and be fine.

I know, you know, I know in Rome, I
will have, there will be enough English

language support for me to get around and
do what I need to do, you know, with my

like 10 word vocabulary in, in Italian.

that just the, the optimization of
these places over decades, if not

centuries of catering to tourists, are
when, when I mentioned earlier that,

that international travel is down.

and, and Southern or Southern European,
travel bookings are down this year.

They're still at, near the
top of the overall rankings.

Right.

It's just, year over year down
several percent that, also, I

guess like one, one other point is.

Don't feel pressured, right.

To do the, off the but beaten path.

If, if that's not what you want.

I'm, I'm, I'm not a hiker, I'm not,
you know, I don't mountain bike.

I'm not, don't want to go
find, swim out to some lost

cave that only like 10 people.

Not, I wanna sit on the beach with
my, my cocktail and enjoy the sun

and hang out with my wife like.

know who you are as a traveler.

Now, you know, I will gladly take a
day trip on some small train to go

see something cool and out of the way.

But, remember, some of that stuff
can also be very hard to get to.

And if you're going for a week
or if you got certain things you

want to do, you gotta take that.

Keep that in mind too.

So.

Brandon Giella: Right?

We've all seen those videos on Instagram
of the woman in the sundress, and she's

like, I found this cute little area
that nobody else knows about three

hours outside of this central city.

And so I took a ferry and then
a train, and then we got in

a canoe and battle and
it's like, okay lady,

Ian Andersen: Right.

Yeah.

No,

Brandon Giella: That ain't happening, you

Ian Andersen: no, exactly.

Exactly.

I'm going on vacation to relax, you know,
like I don't want to work in any way.

Yeah.

Brandon Giella: okay.

So we've mentioned a lot of different
trends, but one I wanted to to to

get your, your feedback on here,
and Rachel, maybe I'll turn it over

to you, is, I wonder what you think
about if, how folks can work nowadays

if that's extending or changing
the way that people are traveling.

So, for example, if you've got
wifi for a lot of knowledge workers

out there, they could go spend two
or three weeks somewhere because.

do, you know, half of it a vacation,
half of it working, and so they can,

you know, kind of get more off the
beaten path or change the way that

they would travel otherwise, despite
some of the things that we were saying.

But I'm curious if that, has a, a
part to play in some of the data

that you're seeing.

Rachel Satow: I want to say yes.

Dot, dot do.

the,

Brandon Giella: I.

Rachel Satow: the,

the short of the long is yes, it
the ability to work and extend it.

You know, if you are
going for a work trip.

Because you work internationally,
whatever it might be like, you need

to go meet with some clients and
then extend, for a little while.

That is definitely a plus with
the way that, you know, the, the

workforce infrastructure exists today.

because we have so many.

So many points of accessibility.

Like I can bring my laptop along if I
happen to be going to, I don't know.

We have a couple of, of coworkers going
to Toronto over the next couple of weeks.

Let's say one of them wanted to stay
for the weekend after the work trip is

finished and explore a little bit more.

They have that capability because
they have all of the things that

they're, they need to do in order to.

To, to do the job while they're, they're
traveling for work and if they needed to

extend it, they had the ability to work
there because, you know, most places,

most being, you know, italicized in, in,
in that way have, access to wifi or at

minimum you could hotspot in or something
along those lines to, to tap in without

using all of your PTOI would say that.

Remote work.

overall also gives the ability to
work from different places so long

as your company allows for it.

there's definitely an uptick in
individuals who are taking on this

nomadic lifestyle where they have a job
that supports the, the ability to work

from anywhere and you see them go work.

A month in Peru or you know, they're
traveling all over the United

States from their van because what
they do allows them to do that.

so I would, I would say yes, it
is definitely changing the way

people are traveling and some of
the things that they're able to do.

I don't know that the ability to
work remote is directly affecting.

These like hotspot lists, you know,
where, where are people going in 2026?

In, in my opinion, at least, simply
because it really is focusing on like

the summer travel upticks and it, the
business traveler and bleisure overall as

it's referred to, is more of a consistent.

Thing.

It's more, it's, it's less about traveling
when others are traveling and when there's

peak travel, travel, timeframes like
summer, and it's more about the ability

to take your every day on the road.

so, so we see it kind of take on
that consistency throughout the year

rather than, you know, contribute
to any of these, these, you know,

hot lists that we're talking about.

Brandon Giella: Yeah.

Fair.

That makes sense.

That makes sense.

One, one more piece of data, or source
of data, if you will, comes from switch

flies, head of sales, who happens to
be a travel agent, travel advisor.

can you talk about what, some actual
bookings and, and data that she

has on the ground talking to people
and planning their trips and how

that might, play into this as well.

And then we'll bring it home.

Talk, talk about,

travel loyalty program managers after that

Rachel Satow: Yeah, absolutely.

So unfortunately Ashley
wasn't able to join us today.

She was really excited,
but she's feeling unwell.

but she did leave us with a couple
of notes, just in her experience.

she is a travel advisor on the side.

and some of the things that
she's seeing overall is, is the.

People are trying to book more unique
excursions, and boutique hotels and

really lean into that Instagramable feel.

which I have a thought on after,
after we get done with this thread.

and then one of the things that she's
really noticing and, and you know.

From a, just general theme is trying
to be cognizant of some of these

recommendations on these lists.

So if you think about some of the cities
that the Conde Nast list, the for travel

list, et cetera, are promoting, they.

May not have the
infrastructure of Rome Paris.

And when you think about an experience
and, and how, how so many people inc,

including influencers, but like so
many different sources are pushing

this idea of off the beaten path.

Just be prepared for if you do
want to experience that, that the

places you go may not have the
infrastructure you expect based on

other hotspots that you've been to.

And I say that,

Brandon Giella: is

Rachel Satow: oh yeah.

Brandon Giella: to say like, let's say
I've had this experience, we talked

about it before on the show where it's
2:00 AM and your three-year-old gets

sick and you gotta go to a doctor or
a hospital or something like that.

If you're way out there, you
may not have that luxury.

Is that, is this

something kind of what
she's talking about?

Rachel Satow: Yeah.

So that, and just being cognizant
of every time you travel, you

are going to someone else's home.

And that's something that we have,
we've talked about in the past.

just being cognizant of that.

And some people live in a New York
City, a Rome, a Tokyo, places where

there's already hundreds of thousands,
millions of people that exist and an

uptick of travelers to those areas.

May not be noticed as much.

it's funny, one of the things that
she and I was talking about, we, we

were talking about is, this idea that
influencers, they are leading the data.

They are as they are going and exploring
certain places and putting it out there

on social media and pushing this idea of
off the beaten path where I found this

cute little cafe, three out three hours
outside of the city and needed to take.

A gondola train and a
something else to get there.

that little cafe may not be ready to
service thousands of people that may

want to experience the same thing
the influencer is, is experiencing.

So from, from the perspective that
she and I were talking about, it's

more just about being cognizant
that not all places have the same.

Tourism infrastructure
readily available and.

Sometimes places are recommended based
on booking data reviews, influencers,

et cetera, that are just simply not
prepared to take on that uplift in tourism

and just being conscientious of that.

As you are traveling.

So that was a, that was a big takeaway,
from some of our conversations

regarding this topic from her.

All that to be said, she did also
leave us with a smart alternative

destination, for some of the, the,
the hotspots that we're seeing.

So one of the things that she mentioned
was if you are looking to do something

off the beaten path, that can still.

Hold a level of infrastructure
from a tourism perspective.

She's recommending Albania for the
Mediterranean coast instead of Italy.

she's, she mentioned that
it's, it's affordable.

The accommodations are, are very good
and it has a beautiful coastline.

So I think when you combine the two
thoughts that I just rambled on about,

At least be cognizant if you are going
to go off the beaten path, ensuring

that you're doing so respectfully
and make sure that you're doing so,

knowing that if you happen to be going
somewhere that doesn't have the, the

tourist infrastructure to be just
cognizant and, and, respectful of that.

So

yeah.

Brandon Giella: I, I've
heard the same about

Croatia, that,

Ian Andersen: Yeah.

Rachel Satow: yes.

Brandon Giella: just

Rachel Satow: That's actually.

Brandon Giella: unquote, you know,

Ian Andersen: yeah, Croatia is on
our short list too 'cause we're a

Rachel Satow: Same.

Ian Andersen: fans and

they've filmed a lot of this stuff there.

Brandon Giella: that's

Ian Andersen: To Rachel's to like,
additional point on what Rachel was saying

is, something else to think about is.

always remember that influencers are

paid They're not doing this for
the love of the game, right?

It's there, there is an incentive there.

So, just to, to kind of add
on, like make sure you're like.

Cross-checking certain things, right?

Don't necessarily take,
any one source for granted.

That's probably the greatest thing
the internet has given us, right,

is, is being able to, to get
multiple sources of information.

And if you can only find this
one influencer talking about this

thing, you know, it might be legit.

And it also might be that that little
B&B in the middle of nowhere that is.

is giving them some money to, to
say those things, you know, and may

or

not be true so remember that any kind
of influencer led stuff is they're

doing it, for their own self interested
purposes, and not necessarily, yours.

So, so crosscheck that stuff and
then, the point of, of the amenities.

Available.

you know, I've been on every
continent except Antarctica, that,

the biggest thing I've learned is
just how easy we have it in the us,

like how convenient everything is.

Just in general, whether it's, know, br
Brandon's point of like, crap, I need

to go to er at two in the morning, or,
you know, I'm having trouble with my

credit card, or, you know, whatever.

we have it so incredibly
convenient compared to basically

anywhere else in the world.

so just keep that in mind.

Keep Plans in mind, you know, I've
been in the military for 18 years, so

that's all sort of second nature to
have like backup plans in case, like I

was showing Rachel my nerdy spreadsheet
for our trip coming up and how, you

know, I have this hotel book for here
and this here, but I also have like,

if this falls through, we're gonna go.

Here and, you know, so always just have,
have backup plans, in case carry cash.

Carry it in an inconspicuous place, right?

Like there's, there's just some basic
travel things you should do anywhere.

But definitely if go in internationally.

Brandon Giella: Amen.

Rachel Satow: a contingency plan.

Brandon Giella: That's right.

That's

Rachel Satow: Yeah.

But, but yeah.

To Ian's point, regarding.

Influencers.

I know internally we were talking
about this, and whether or not social

media and influencers are, are leading
the data or if they're reflecting it.

and when you think about some of the,
the lists that we pulled together,

to, to really take a look at some
of these hot destinations, a lot

of them are familiar because of
social media already amplifying it.

And to Ian's point.

Always work with the assumption
that influencers themselves

are not the first data point.

they are potentially, there is
potentially a brand behind them

driving certain behaviors, certain
recommendations, et cetera.

So while they, influencers and social
media are leading some of the data that

we're seeing, and they are, you know.

During awareness of, you know, awareness
that might be reflected in some of the

surveys that Conde NAS is is doing or
some of the recommendations that are

on the travel advice sub subreddit,
et cetera, they influencers may be.

The source of where that
information came from.

However, just know that they are not
necessarily the first data point, and in

reality there is potentially something
in play behind that, that is actually

driving, the, the recommendations
and those certain behaviors.

So, really good point, Ian.

Brandon Giella: it makes me
think of, related to Conde Nash.

She's the, creative director, if you
will, of Conde Nas, Anna Wintour, who

was the editor for Vogue for many years.

I was, I watched her documentary and
there was at one point, basically

you come to this realization that
she was so powerful based on her.

Influencer recommendations of what made
it into the magazine or what became

the trend for the season, that it
oriented an entire industry based on

her judgment or her taste or whatever.

And you see that in these.

Much smaller, ways with these Instagram
influencers that they kind of set

the tone for or have their taste or
whatever it may be, their interests,

based on certain trends and so on.

And that's okay.

That's a good thing to listen to and
especially if several of your friends

follow the same kind of influencer,
you can actually talk about that

thing together that you went and did.

So there's this like social dynamic
as well, like a, an example.

is for us, when we went to the, the
borough market in London, there's

this little, strawberry stand that
they dip strawberries in chocolate.

And it was like, made
it into a viral video.

And so when we went to London, we
went and did that, and we felt like

we were part of this like, social
moment, you know, if you will.

so some of that's kind of cool, but

yes, they're they're
definitely paid by those

Rachel Satow: Yeah.

Yeah.

Brandon Giella: keep that in mind.

but it is, it, it can be a cool thing,

but Yeah, it's not the
only data point for sure.

Rachel Satow: Yeah, and I mean to
your, to your comment regarding.

And all of the, the powers that be,
that come, behind some of these, these

publications that individuals reference.

I mean, I always think of The Devil
Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly,

Brandon Giella: Oh,

Rachel Satow: Ian Blue Sweater.

I'm like, anytime I see that scene,
it just makes me realize that like

there is, there is, there are people
in the world who have such, Such

respect and such breadth of knowledge
in certain things that like their whole

identity becomes like what is trending.

And it's, it's very interesting
to see how that trickles down in

different industries, but particularly
with travel in this instance.

Brandon Giella: That's right.

That's right.

And, that's a not against ai, that

sometimes human judgment and taste is

still

Rachel Satow: Absolutely.

Brandon Giella: should

be, you know,

Rachel Satow: yeah.

Brandon Giella: thing.

Rachel Satow: I'm checking the subreddit
before I'm going to chat GPT Honestly.

Brandon Giella: hundred percent.

Anyways.

Okay, Rachel, bring us home.

Why does any of this
matter for our listeners?

especially those that are creating
or designing these loyalty programs,

designing travel programs, thinking
about their employees or customers,

and, ways that they can design their
trips or be thinking about their

trips, especially as they come up for

summer here soon.

Rachel Satow: So, I mean, our listeners
could be travelers themselves, they

could be loyalty and program managers.

But I mean, for, for those, for our
audience with Switchfly it's, it's,

important to note that the reason we're
talking about why these hotspots lists

and where everybody's going, for summer
2026, really is so that you can plan

effectively, if demand is concentrated.

Inventory pressure in increases.

So if everyone is booking for certain
locations and everybody is trying

to go to specific top 20 areas.

It's going to become harder to, to
travel and to promote for those things.

so that the, the ability to to
redeem becomes more challenging.

There's some pricing volatility that
comes into play, and it's just, it's

important to know and to keep a pulse on.

Not just how people are traveling,
whether they're renting a car and

staying, you know, within the United
States, if they're taking international

or domestic flights, etc But, to
also be aware of, of the locations

that individuals are traveling to.

And all of that is like really
powerful data, booking data that.

that Most platforms are going to store,
but it can, in the long term, help

you serve better packaging options or
recommendations for additional activities.

so just be conscientious of, of what
is trending right now, just because

you can one, lean in, lean into
it if you are seeing, a little bit

of a lull in your summer bookings.

you can lean into it from a
promotional standpoint, but two, just.

Understanding the ramifications that if.

Demand is concentrated, things
might get a little bit more

challenging from a program side.

and it's also very important that
you tie it into some of the other

internal data you may be collecting.

so for example, I know we
talked about this in the past.

Switch fly.

Pulled together multi-year data
for airlines, particularly to

showcase when the travel peaks
are and when booking peaks are.

it's important to kind of
have multifaceted layers when

it comes to analyzing your
data and understanding that.

One data point is not
the full perspective.

you need to be able to take
a look at where are the top

locations, but also okay, when
are people going to be traveling?

So making sure that you have all
of these different facts in front

of you to make the most appropriate
decisions from a, a promotional

standpoint and a support standpoint.

Brandon Giella: Ian,
any, any parting thoughts

on, to leave our listeners with?

Ian Andersen: I mean, I
think Rachel's covered it.

I think the is just, rely on data, but.

Multiple sources of data, right?

Like take,

Rachel Satow: the of it.

Ian Andersen: data, historical
data into account, but also, look

at, at trends, obviously look at
geopolitics, look at, know, else,

to make really the best decisions.

You can't solely rely on historical data.

you really gotta take all of
it kind of into account, so

it'll be.

Brandon Giella: you guys have some
calendars, I think for, for folks to check

out.

can you tell us about that?

Rachel Satow: Yeah, so I had
mentioned the airline demand calendar.

That's, under the resources on our
site, but we'll ensure to include

it in the show notes as well.

and then the other is more for
HR tech and employee rewards

and recognitions programs.

and it focuses on employee travel
and when there may or may not be

some burnout in your workforce that
aligns with our travel booking data.

So, both are really valuable resources.

To apply with the overlay of like,
okay, this is when we can anticipate

some demand, and this is where from the
hot lists that we've mentioned, where

people may be going, and, and making
sure that that is all taken into account.

Brandon Giella: Awesome.

You can find more@switchfly.com.

Guys, thank you so much.

I know folks are preparing for their
travel and this is a wealth of knowledge

to be thinking about as they're planning.

So thank you so

much and we'll see you next time.

Rachel Satow: Thanks, Brandon.

Ian Andersen: Thanks Brandon.