Registration Opens

Corporate Member Workshop: Building a Great Team: From Attraction to Advancement

Part of the High-Performing Teams series by Coach Quen®, based on her upcoming book.
This high-energy, interactive workshop brings Dr. Quendrida Whitmore’s Talent Lifecycle Model™ to life, equipping leaders with practical strategies to attract, develop, and advance top talent while building inclusive, high-performing teams. Participants will leave with an actionable blueprint for leading with intention—from hiring and development to succession and growth.

Board Lunch

Welcome & Event Kickoff

Leading Under Visibility: Trust, Standards and Decision Making When Everyone Is Watching

Senior leaders operate in an environment where every decision carries visibility. Teams watch closely. Customers respond quickly. Reputation shifts in real time. The challenge is no longer effort or expertise. The challenge is leading with clarity when scrutiny is constant and expectations never pause.

In this opening keynote, Marion Jones shares lessons drawn from performing and leading under global attention. She explores what leadership looks like once outcomes are no longer predictable. What follows success. What follows mistakes. And what leaders rely on when they must act before certainty arrives.

The keynote looks closely at how credibility returns through consistent behavior over time. It also addresses how standards begin to slip, often quietly, and why teams look to leaders for steadiness when pressure rises.

Leaders will leave with practical ways to lead clearly when scrutiny increases and expectations rise, using approaches they can carry directly into conversations with their teams the next day.

Executive Unfiltered: An Ask Me Anything Conversation

An unscripted, rapid-fire exchange designed to surface real-world leadership lessons. In this candid audience Q&A, Dana Shapir Alviene responds to live questions on high-stakes decision-making, navigating career inflection points, building influence across teams and leading through growth and change — offering practical perspective in real time.

Power & Purpose: Turning Vision into Business Growth

A fast-paced session featuring 5-minute executive case studies, live audience scenario challenges and real-world insights submitted by the audience -- facilitated by Skift to spark actionable conversation and exchange among leaders.

Networking Break

Tech That Travels: Women Leading Digital Transformation

From mobile-first booking to modernizing legacy infrastructure, this panel spotlights women driving meaningful tech and product transformation across travel. Panelists will explore how APIs, systems integration, operational efficiency and emerging AI applications are reshaping operations and guest experience — moving beyond buzzwords to focus on measurable business impact, smarter decision-making and scalable innovation.

Afternoon Keynote

Closing Remarks (Day 1)

Cocktail Reception

Immersion Activity

Self Defense Workshop

Self defense workshop taught by Elaine Lou Cartas

Breakfast

Welcome

The Confidence Cocktail™: 3 C’s to Command Any Room

Many women undermine their authority by second-guessing or over-explaining. This high-impact session equips leaders to overcome self-doubt and communicate with clarity, confidence and certainty in high-stakes moments, influencing any room you enter. Using The Confidence Cocktail™ framework, you’ll learn to build trust and credibility quickly, elevate your presence, and deliver concise and persuasive messages.

Managing Up: The Rising Director Perspective

A dynamic panel of standout directors, rising leaders at the center of today’s talent pipeline, offering a window into the future of women in the workplace. Panelists will discuss how they’re shaping teams and culture, and what they need from the C-suite to grow, stay engaged, and succeed

No Cap: Busting the Biggest Myths About Gen Z and Travel

Gen Z is reshaping travel, but how much of what we think we know about them is actually true? This session takes on some of the most common assumptions about Gen Z, putting conventional wisdom to the test and using real data across both business and leisure travel to bust myths. Come ready to have your assumptions challenged and learn more about the generation's growing influence on travel and beyond.

Coaching Workshops

WLT Forum attendees can participate in coaching workshops, choosing two of five one-hour sessions. These interactive, small-group workshops provide a deep dive into each coach’s expertise while addressing the unique needs of participants. In addition, each coach offers 30-minute one-on-one career coaching sessions, which can be booked through the event app and members receive first access.

Networking Break

Peer Group Breakouts

Networking Break

Member Moment

A candid reflection from a Women Leading Travel member sharing how the community has shaped her leadership journey. From expanded networks and career advancement to peer support and perspective, this personal testimonial highlights the tangible impact of being in the room — and the power of investing in community at the executive level.

Industry Trends: What’s Shaping Travel’s Next Chapter

A forward-looking discussion on the forces shaping the future of travel and hospitality, featuring perspectives from across the industry.

Point–Counterpoint: The Future of Growth in Travel

A dynamic, moderated debate between two senior industry leaders exploring one of the most pressing questions facing travel today — from commercial strategy and brand expansion to distribution, loyalty and long-term profitability. Designed to surface differing perspectives and challenge conventional thinking, this session invites thoughtful disagreement, sharp insights and real-time audience engagement.

Honoring 2026’s Top Women in Travel & Hospitality

Cocktail Reception

Morning Exercise

Walking ghost tour of the French Quarter or hotel yoga

Breakfast

Welcome

Opening Keynote

Member Moment

In this personal spotlight, a Women Leading Travel member shares how meaningful connection, trusted peer dialogue and access to senior leaders have influenced her career trajectory. This 1testimonial offers a firsthand look at the impact of community — and why being part of Women Leading Travel extends well beyond the event itself.

Women at the Top: CEOs and Presidents

Top women executives share how they are steering their organizations through economic uncertainty, talent disruption, climate impact, shifting traveler behaviors and an evolving competitive landscape. This is a candid look at what’s keeping today’s C-suites up at night—and how they are building resilient, future-ready businesses.

Coaching Workshops

WLT Forum attendees can participate in coaching workshops, choosing two of five one-hour sessions. These interactive, small-group workshops provide a deep dive into each coach’s expertise while addressing the unique needs of participants. In addition, each coach offers 30-minute one-on-one career coaching sessions, which can be booked through the event app and members receive first access.

The Bet

WLT Close Out