WEBVTT - Bonus: Is international travel is set to get cheaper? Webjet Group CEO 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:09.280 Welcome to Shared Lunch, brought to you by Chairsa's. I'm Sonja, 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:11.680 one of the co founders and co CEOs at Chairs's, 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.880 and we're on a mission to create financial empowerment for everyone. 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:18.040 Before we get started, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.959 custodians of the land, water and sky of which we 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:24.200 come to from today, the Gettigill people of the Aura Nation, 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:28.520 and pay my respects to olders, past, present and emerging. Also, 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:30.280 here's some important information. 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.199 Investing involves a risk you might lose the money you 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.519 start with. We recommend talking to a licensed financial advisor. 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.040 We also recommend reading product disclosure documents before deciding to invest. 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:42.360 Everything you're about. 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:44.479 To see and hear is current at the time of recording. 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.840 We often hear about mergers and acquisitions. Well, it's also 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:49.280 possible to have a d merger. 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:50.639 This is when a. 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.880 Company decides to split into two companies. And that's what 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:56.800 we're chatting about today by hearing about what's been going 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:59.280 on with the online travel company Webjet. 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:02.680 Started in nineteen ninety eight. 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:06.080 Webjet is a well known global travel company and a 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:08.839 place that many Kiwis and Australians go to book travel 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:12.040 and experiences and accounts for almost eight percent. 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:12.720 Of all travel booked. 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:17.119 Last week, shareholders voted and approved that the d merger 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:22.040 of Webjet into two separate ASEX listed entities, web Travel Group, 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:23.840 which is the B to B side of the business, 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:26.119 and Webjet Group, which is the B two C side 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.880 of the business. Joining me to help understand what this 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:32.520 means for consumer travel, the new CEO of Webjet Group, 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:33.360 Katrina Berry. 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:36.000 Welcome, Katrina, Hi, Sonya love to be here. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.240 Yeah, thanks, thanks for having us. It's been a huge week, 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:39.840 hasn't it. 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:42.160 I sound like I've had a really big night out. 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:46.319 I've been. I feel like I've been talking to investors 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:51.120 and brokers for about the last four weeks solid. And 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:56.720 on Monday we rang the bell with Webjet Group WJL 0:01:57.000 --> 0:02:00.280 now officially listed on the AX. So that was quite 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.840 a party. And yeah, so it's been a full on, 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:04.360 busy week. It's been a good time. 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:06.320 Yeah, amazing. 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:09.200 And we will get into the whib jet you know 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.360 what's been going on, because obviously there's been, you know, 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.320 a lot to talk about. But first let's give a 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:17.400 bit of an intro to you and well so people 0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:19.120 get a sense of who we're talking to. You've got 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:25.280 a pretty impressive background, fast tech, fifty female leader, numerous 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:29.040 director and CEO titles, held in some pretty iconic brands. 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:30.680 You know, can you tell us a bit about your 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:33.800 background and what led you to the travel industry At the. 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:35.440 End of the day, I'm just a Kirwy farm girl 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.440 who grew up in Papa Korda. I'm just outside of 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:44.200 Auckland and went to Auckland University and then I moved 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:47.200 to Australia. My first job and Mackenzie doing strategy consulting, 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.680 so I spent about seven or eight years doing that 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.120 and then my first real job as what we call it, 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:57.360 was working with a Virgin group. But I think and 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:58.720 that's where I kind of fell in love with the 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:02.400 travel industry. I wasn't working specifically for Virgin Blue as 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:04.120 it was called back then, but you know, you get 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:05.760 a lot of exposed to it when I was working 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:09.840 at Virgin Money Virgin Management and started a gym chain 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.440 called Virgin Active. But I think what drew me into 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.920 the travel industry was, you know, when I was at university, 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:18.480 I went on this trip and it was pretty much 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:22.359 my first overseas trip. I went to a student conference 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:26.440 in India, and so you know, it sort of traveled 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:30.160 around there and which is you know, India for anyone 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:34.680 who hasn't been, is an assault on every sense in 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:39.160 the best possible way. It is colorful, it is confronting. 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.680 The food is fabulous, and you know, for me, it 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.480 was a complete adventure and something I never thought I 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:48.680 would ever do, sort of, you know, spending my time 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.040 at Papacotta High School, I was just hoping to get 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:55.160 to the big smoke, being Auckland, CBD. So that's what 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:59.240 drew me to travel and my first real leadership role 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:03.000 in travel. I was working at a bank and I 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.520 had a recruiter call me and said I had just 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:08.320 left the Virgin group about a year and a half 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:11.160 failiure and they had said, look, I've got the perfect 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.920 role for you. You wanted, you know, an MDCO role. 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.640 I you know, you wanted to cover Australa, Zealand in 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:20.400 Asia because I'd missed running Asia after I left Virgin. 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.359 Well that sounds perfect, what is it? She said of Kentucky? 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.680 And I was like, sorry, Like, isn't Kentucky just a 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:30.080 booze bus for Bogans? And in the end. I met 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:32.440 with a chair and he was like, you're right twenty 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:35.120 years ago, twenty five years ago, it was, and that's 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:36.960 why we want you to come on board. You've got 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:40.920 experience taking iconic brands and transforming them and that was 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.560 my first full time role in the travel industry and 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.440 I've been in it ever since. You know, that's sort 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:48.960 of twelve years ago now, so good times. 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.160 So you were on the board of Whipbjet, you know, 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:54.400 for a few years before this, so you know the 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:58.200 business pretty well. What's been your experience, like two weeks 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:01.520 into the CEO role of the of the B two 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:02.080 C side. 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.160 You know, this is a stellar business. You know, it's 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:09.720 the original online travel agency for Austrand, New Zealand, and 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.360 you know, as you said, formed twenty six years ago 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:15.960 and you know since that time, it took about ten 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:17.880 years for it to become number one and it's maintained 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.040 that position ever since. And it's a i would say, 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:25.360 a leader, a forethinker and how we buy you know, 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.120 e commerce. So you know one of the things though 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.720 that this business, you know, prior to d merger was 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.920 you know, three point two billion dollar business and you 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:38.120 know that becomes a lot, and we had almost become 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:42.960 two different divisions. We're two different sets of customers. B 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.880 to B was you know, travel intermediaries, people who were 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.720 selling travel and that's very much what our web bed 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:53.840 business served. And then the original business, Webjet Group, you know, 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:56.800 which is the way to buy travel online in Australian 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.760 New Zealand. The reality is when you get that big 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:06.240 as a board member, you unapologetically spend your dollars and 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.640 your time on the business that's growing the fastest. You 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.240 always back your growth and now the Webjet Group has 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:16.840 a very enviable growth target, don't you growth profile, but 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.040 you know it was less than sort of thirty five percent, 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.440 which is what our other business was growing at. So 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:23.560 the reason why as a board we started to talk 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.320 about the de merger was we found ourselves as a 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:31.479 board speaking mess and less about the iconic Webjet Group, 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:35.280 the original business, even though that was the cash car 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:38.479 of the group, and if we were honest, we'd probably 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:40.520 you know, not focus on enough. In the last five 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:42.680 to six years, you know, there was a bit going on. 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.920 We had a pandemic and then they had to manage 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.840 through that and then there was revenge travel. But as 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.520 a board, we thought it was the most appropriate thing 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:55.040 to drive shareholder value but also to drive the growth 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.760 agendas of both company companies, was to split it up 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.720 and allow both to focus on the unique strategic agendas. 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:07.320 We're extremely well cash preserved, if you will, you know, 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:11.040 we have no debt, about ninety million dollars free cash, 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.160 and that gives us an incredible opportunity now to focus 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:18.560 on our unique organic and potentially inorganic growth agenda. So 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.000 that's what we're looking forward to doing. So it's been 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.160 a whirlwind, I guess to your question of you know, 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:27.480 what's being like, I officially, you know, step down from 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:29.880 the board about three months ago to step into an 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.600 executive role, and you know, I think we've just delivered 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:37.240 the fastest merger in Australian corporate history. There's no prize 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.640 for it but other than a horse throat, but I 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.760 think it's just been really exciting. The team is incredibly 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:46.440 energized now that we have our own balance sheet. We 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.400 have a dedicated board, dedicated you know, management team now, 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.800 dedicated balance sheet, no debt, and all the opportunity in 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:53.160 the world. 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.360 So let's get into the opportunities that you see now 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:59.560 that the B two C side is stepping and tigers 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.120 its own light and its own chance to kind of 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:06.040 go and I set itself from here. So can you 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.920 tell us a bit around like how you see those opportunities? 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:11.040 You know, what is the B two C strategy from 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:11.760 here for Webjet? 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.040 Well, there's a couple of key areas that we think 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.560 are underleveraged and we want to focus on as a team. 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:22.200 The first one is probably you know, it's the first 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:24.840 thing you do when you come into a company is 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:26.840 you check your brand health. You know, what is the 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:30.320 health of the Webjet brand, et cetera. It's incredibly famous, 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.960 it has really high awareness, but consideration is probably something 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:35.959 we need to work on. So the first thing we're 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.000 doing as a team is a bit of a brand 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.480 refresh or a glow up as our younger lists would 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:43.920 know it. So it's not a rebrand, but it's an 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:46.400 opportunity for us to take the brand, freshen it up, 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:49.240 make it a bit more relevant and a bit more contemporary. 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.760 So that's your first piece from there. That'll set us 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.480 in a good position to really invest in our marketing 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:01.439 and I think leverage our sex mil customers. So we 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.800 have six million customers across Australia and New Zealand who 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.080 are either members of our loged and members of our 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:12.600 websites and our travel marketplaces. We have three of them 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.240 being webjet dot com dot Au or Webjet dot Co 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:18.439 dot nz it and then Airport Rentals dot Com and 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:23.040 Motorhome Republic. The last two you know, obviously hopefully what 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:25.040 it says on the car us says on the door 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:29.319 one's car Rentals and one's motor home Rentals. So each 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:33.120 of those three marketplaces are leaders in their space, and 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:37.800 we have six million customers sitting across those and I 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:41.079 think we've got an opportunity to drive more loyalty and 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.439 drive more repeat rate from those customers by focusing on 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.439 our member journey and our member experience. So that's a 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.040 key focus for us in terms of developing out that 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.160 member experience. And what I mean by that is, you know, 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.520 we did our first piece of it, and there's plenty 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:58.760 of e commers examples who do this way better than us, 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:01.199 So this is not a hard stretch for us to 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.240 really grab growth out of this lever. You know, we 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:07.920 did our first ever promotion like a three weeks ago 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.679 to Bali and it was if you're a webjeit member, 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:13.320 you got access to that deal for the first twenty 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:16.480 four hours first. Now, everybody knows in a travel deal, 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:18.800 you want to jump on that thing because that's where 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:22.679 all the good flights go first. So we did that 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.120 and gave that to members as an exclusive offer to 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.600 them for twenty four hours. It went really well. Why 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:32.080 because people love being treated special, and they love deals, 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:35.160 and they love getting early access to something. So we think, 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.160 you know, there's an entire extension you can take from that. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:40.839 That was just you know, we've got the functionality. I've 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:43.240 got my profile and there my kids, my husband's, all 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.719 our frequent flyers, so it's really easy for me to 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.240 book my flight, my hotel and have it all in 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:51.719 one place. So that's functionality already exists. Now what we 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:53.959 want to do is offer value to our members, and 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.520 that doesn't have to be revenue dilutionary, but it's like, 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.120 here's an exclusive offer for you. Also, it's work with 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.480 airlines going Okay, you've got some distressed inventory. You know 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:06.079 May is not looking good for next year, and but 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:07.400 you don't have enough to go out and do an 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:10.280 above line campaign. Work with us We've got a closed 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:12.839 user group being six million people we can talk to 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:15.959 and go we can push this product for you. So 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.959 there's some really good examples there. So that drives what 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:24.280 lever I call the repeat. The next piece is you 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:26.360 know what am I? What am I buying? You know, 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.719 there's an entire travel wallet that each of us has 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:30.920 when we think about going on a trip. I've got 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:32.920 to get my flights and then I've you know, how 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:34.400 am I going to get around? Am I going to 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:35.880 take a tour? Am I going to hire a car? 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.800 We're going to hire a motor home. Oh, I'm going 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.199 to need somewhere to stay. You know, I need some hotels, 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:47.320 and you know being safe is cool, so I'm going 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.240 to need travel insurance as well. So these are their 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:55.000 elements we If you look at our revenue, seventy percent 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:57.960 of it comes from flight related activity and thirty percent 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:03.600 comes from us receiving a commission from selling the hotel 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:07.120 or selling the car, or selling the travel insurance for example. 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:10.559 So the next key lever opportunity for this business is 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:14.679 to focus on capturing that whole travel wallet and attaching 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.800 what we call these ancillary products. So most people know 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:22.839 us for flights and probably domestic, so it's coming to 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:25.000 us and the going Okay, you've got your flight, and 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:28.760 most people don't know. He's two fun facts for every 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:33.560 dull in listener. You can burn your AMEX points on webjet. 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:36.800 Most people are like in business, they're like, I did 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.440 not know that. The second piece is you can get 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:41.320 twenty percent off your hotel if you book your flight, 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.480 so you know, really good bargain. But the key thing 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.800 about that is most people don't know. You know, if 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:52.880 I attach all these the extras for my holiday, I 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.360 can bundle and save if you will. So that's the 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.679 kind of the third key thing we're focused on. The 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.240 last is international. Now, if you think about you know 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:07.360 what's happening in the international space right now? Airflight prices 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:12.040 are dropping yay for all of us. And you know 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:16.320 that is because demand supply. The capacity hasn't. We haven't 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:20.320 fully reached outbound capacity. And but that I mean flights 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:22.880 out of Australia New Zealand the level that we had 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:25.560 pre COVID. We've still only at eighty ninety percent. Most 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:30.559 airlines now are finalizing bringing back fleet, etc. And focus 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.400 more on a capacity game than a yield game at 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:35.439 the same time as we've got new airlines coming to 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:38.839 Australia New Zealand who have never flown here before. You 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:43.080 know his fun fact, Turkish air Lines third largest airline 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.640 in the world. I never knew that until about two 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.079 months ago. And they have just confirmed they're going to 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:51.439 be starting to fly out of Australia this year. So 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.040 that is bringing more capacity to the market. What does 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:58.280 that mean prices begin to drop? So is a real 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:01.520 We've got a real key opportunity right now to sell 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.480 more international flights. Now, as I said before, most people 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:06.599 will know webjait. It's like, okay, you know, how we 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.880 started was selling point to point around austray and New 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:14.400 Zealand and between the two countries. But now we are 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.959 significantly growing our share of international outbound. Now here's a 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:22.560 trick about international outbound US Ossie's and Kiwi's. We like 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:25.600 to travel and we don't do simple point to point 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.240 Americans and Europeans they go, I'm going to fly from 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.600 New York to London back again, or I'm going to 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.160 go from Rome, you know, from Rome to la and 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:36.320 back again. They do point to point travel. Now that's 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:40.320 really easy to solve with technology, and that's why technology, 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:42.680 you know, sort of boomed across the last fifteen years 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.600 for actually buying travel online. For however, for international, for 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.560 OSSI's and Kiwis, we don't do that. We do multi 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.880 stop trips. Stop off in Singapore, they hang out there 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.560 for a couple of days, up to Dubai, go to 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:59.000 the raids track into London. Oh got to pop across 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.920 to France to see Auntie Cecil. Then I want to 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:04.920 go down to Italy because that's where I want to 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:08.360 have my aparol Greece. Need a bit of sunshine, and 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.680 you know I'll go home by La to see my 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:13.280 friend there or to take the kids to Disneyland. So 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.520 you know, we really move around. That's called a multi 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:20.000 stock trip. Now we have a really unique competitive advantage 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:23.680 in this using AI and a piece of technology that 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.400 we have bought and integrated. That now means we have 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:32.800 a real shot at disrupting the industry again and becoming 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.600 the way that you can book international. So traditionally you 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:37.840 would have to go to what we call a bricks 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.080 and water travel agency or you know, your travel agency 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:43.400 store at the local shopping center. You walk in there 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.000 and you sit down and a good travel agent can 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:49.160 put together that multi stop trip for you across a 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.160 couple of hours. I know my sister in law is 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.040 a travel agent and that's what I've been making her 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:57.040 do for years. But with webjet and now how we're 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.320 using AI, you can do that from your couch by 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.800 yourself in five minutes. So, given the trends that are 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.600 happening in the international market, given the continuing on acceleration 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:11.600 to online purchasing for every category, particularly travel, and now 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:13.920 the technology is at a place and we have a 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:18.160 distinct competitive vantage with an AI that we have implemented, 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.000 we've got a really good shot at starting to win 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.280 an international share. So those are the three things that 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.440 we're focused on in the first one being fixed, the brand, 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.200 fix the repeat, attach more, capture more of the travel wallet, 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:32.000 and then grow our international share. 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:36.720 Thanks for that overview. Who are your main competitors? 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:42.440 People compare us to Expedia and Booking dot Com in 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.200 terms of the online world, but they started out life 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:47.680 as hotels, so most people go to them for hotels 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:50.960 and selling flights is a lot lot harder. And then 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:53.320 people can also compare us to I think you know, 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:55.840 major travel agencies like Flight Center. 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:00.200 Cool and then you know, it's great to have the 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.040 plans and the strategies of what you're gonna seize and achieve, 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:05.920 but how do you consider what are the big risks 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:07.399 that you're managing, Like, what are the things that can 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:08.760 get away in the way of that plan? 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:10.879 Well, I mean, you know, the number one rest we 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.400 always talk about now is a pandemic or something that's 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.080 a true disrupted to the industry. You know, in the 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:18.280 industry we're all burnt by that, So that is always 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:21.480 top of mind. And I think the other sort of 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.680 the key pieces, you know, sort of fall off the 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:28.240 back of that global events. You know obviously you know 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:32.040 things slowed down in Eastern Europe given global events over there. 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.720 You know, you've obviously got cost of living crisis. You know, 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:38.359 this is this is softening a little bit domestic demand 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:41.399 and traveling around astray in between New Zealand and Australia. 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.080 That's starting to soften that a little bit, but international 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:48.000 is still growing strong. So I think macroeconomic conditions are 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:50.080 probably the key rest of the business we see. 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.040 And how do you how do you think about sustainability, 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:55.680 How does that rep into your thinking? 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:56.679 As a travel company. 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.159 Yeah, I mean it's really important to our customers and 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:01.600 therefore it's really important to us. So we were the 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.920 first online travel agency to introduce carbon offset. So with 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.639 each you know, interaction you have with us, you have 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:11.120 the opportunity to offset the carbon produced by the flight. 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.720 And we obviously do our sustainability report on an annual basis. 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.280 The key thing for us on that is is you know, 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.520 dealing with lots of different suppliers. We deal with suppliers 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:24.040 from hotels and from airlines and from you know, car 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:28.720 rental companies, and you know, also checking through their credentials, 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:31.320 but also checking through our modern slavery. I think it's 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.120 a really important thing in terms of being a good 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:35.840 corporate citizen is making through making sure you're checking through 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.160 all your suppliers as well to make sure that you're 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.200 working with I think great corporate citizens. 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:42.720 Yeah. 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:46.240 Great, And you know we have you know, we've talked 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:50.399 about apparol, sprits and revenge travel and as well, you know, 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:52.720 you did touch on it, the cost of living crisis. 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:56.399 How how do the how is that playing out and 0:18:56.680 --> 0:19:01.320 the demand for travel with you know, with the cost 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:02.560 of living crisis at the moment. 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:06.479 Yeah, Well, it's a really interesting trend and I think 0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:08.680 Jerry Harvey said it the best in the Financial Review 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:11.280 the other week. You said people are prioritizing travel over 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:16.240 buying their next couch or their fridge. Funny thing is 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.720 travel pre COVID. I think, you know, most people think 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:25.080 about a discretionary item. Post COVID, people are thinking about 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:27.560 it like a non discretionary item. People are giving up 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:29.800 other things to travel, and that's what we're hearing from 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:33.920 our customers. People are looking for bargains though. So one 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:36.920 of the great pieces of tech that we have is 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.240 on Webjet dot com, dot AU, dot co, dot nz 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:43.680 is our mix and Match matrix. What this allows you 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.240 to do is to fly one way with an airline 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:49.000 to fly back with another. And people love that because 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:50.920 it allows you to get on one ticket. You don't 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:52.800 have to go to seventeen different sites and figure out 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.240 what is the cheapest. It's all compared for you on 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:58.359 our site and you can pick the best timings for 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.280 you and the best pricing, and that allows people to 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.240 mix and match and save. So how it's playing out 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:05.960 in terms of the cost of living is I think 0:20:06.000 --> 0:20:10.760 people are still prioritizing travel that particularly prioritizing international travel. 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:13.520 You may do one less trip domestic, but when you 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.280 are traveling, you're looking for bargains. You're looking for how 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:19.200 I can be really efficient with my money because it's shifted, 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:23.000 like hybrid working. You know, no matter how many big 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:25.879 CEOs tellers, we're all coming back into the office. My 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:28.240 personal view is the world has moved on and I 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:30.159 think that you know, there's been a cultural shift in that, 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:32.000 and I think there's been a cultural shift in the 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:34.199 way people think about travel as well, so they are 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:37.760 prioritizing that against other expenditure. And that is absolutely what 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:40.480 we're hearing from our customers. They're still looking for bargains, 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:41.320 but they're still going. 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:46.119