TC was in the audience at the 2012 PhoCus-Wright conference when Senior Director of Research Carroll Rheem was drawing her interview with Kayak CEO Steve Hafner to a close. She asked the outspoken Hafner to give a first-word reaction to a variety of industry topics and personalities. The conversation went like this:
Groupon? “Trainwreck.”
Google Flight Search? “Delightful product.” (Hafner has very publicly criticized the feature.)
Orbitz? “Alma mater.”
Hipmunk? “Irrelevant.”
Pinterest? “Interesting.”
Big data? “Overhyped.”
Priceline CEO Jeff Boyd? “Stellar boss.”
Pivot? “Overhyped.”
PhoCusWright Chairman Philip Wolf? “Adios.” (Wolf sold his company to Travel Weekly parent Northstar Travel Media last year.)