Last Friday, 12th October, Protein hosted a unique event at our New York office that explored The Future of Travel. From modern hotels to the latest iteration of the online community and the ever-intriguing concept of the ‘cultural escort’, we explored exactly how the landscape of travel is changing for our audience – and precisely what that means for us, as travelers and businesses alike. Around 60 people came down to enjoy the beer and snacks, and gain some inspiration from our three expert speakers.

Kicking off the event was Jeremy Fisher, CEO and founder of new travel platform Wander, a new site that is “a place for people to share the places they’ve been, the places they want to go, and the places they are connected to.” Inspired by the functionality of Yelp and the aesthetics of Tumblr and Pinterest, Wander creates the ‘Wanderlog’, a way to record the places you encounter. Jeremy discussed what inspired him to start Wander and how the site differs from other travel platforms.

Next up was Josh Spear, an entrepreneur, blogger, and one of the youngest marketing and communication strategists in the world. As well as being founding partner at Undercurrent, he's CEO and founder of new travel platform, Valet, a membership service which offers curated insider city guides and discount hotel prices to global creatives. Josh discussed what inspired him to start Valet, and why it was necessary to create such a service.

Our final speaker was Vipin Goyal, CEO and co-founder of Sidetour, a new community marketplace where people can discover, book and host unique experiences and activities. Whether it’s racing down the U.S. Luge track with a former Olympic medalist or having lunch with an investment banker-turned-monk, SideTour’s mission is to connect people with vibrant and creative hosts who want to share their talents and passion with others. Vipin discussed the concept behind Sidetour, and what inspired him to start it.

After the presentations, a panel discussion with some thought-provoking questions from the audience created an inspiring dialogue about the changing face of travel. The audio from the event is now up on our Forum page so click to have a listen to the speakers presentations. The Q&A discussion will also be featured in our next Protein Journal so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Our next Forum is in London on The Future of Making - get your tickets here.