Chris LaColla
Founder, Ondra
Chris has spent his career on the commercial side of travel, with the numbers to answer for at two airlines, a cruise line and a restaurant tech company. He was Vice President of eCommerce at MSC Cruises, looking after more than $700M a year in direct digital revenue, and before that Senior Director of eCommerce and Ancillary Revenue Management at Spirit Airlines, where he ran a $2B+ ancillary business and the machine learning system that priced it. Earlier he led Pacific pricing at United Airlines, with a team across Chicago, Tokyo and Hong Kong. These days he runs LaCoVen, a strategy studio for travel and hospitality operators, writes about pricing, distribution and where AI earns its keep, and builds Ondra. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and engineering degrees from Northeastern. He lives in Miami Beach, and loves travel and art deco in roughly equal measure.
Posts by Chris LaColla
Marketing When Your Prices Change Three Times a Week
Travel inventory is revenue-managed, so a price you posted Tuesday is wrong by Friday. Here is how to market a moving target without your content going stale.
Where Your Instagram Leads Go After They Click
A specific post earns the click, then sends the lead to a page that forgets why they came. Here is where the handoff leaks, and what a page owes the click.
Why Broad Discount Posts Do Not Book Anything
A ten-percent-off post asks the reader to imagine whether it applies to them. Here is why that fails, and why a specific offer does the qualifying for you.
Why Guests Find You on Instagram and Book on an OTA
Your guest discovers you on Instagram, then books the same room on Booking.com. Here is where that handoff leaks, and how a new EU rule lets you win it back.
Travel Agent Marketing Software: What the Options Do
Most advisors run marketing alone, on top of everything else. Here is what the categories of tools do, and how to judge them for a one-person shop.
Following Up With a Travel Lead in the First 72 Hours
Speed wins the first reply and almost nobody manages it, yet a trip is a slow decision. Here is how to square a five-minute response with a 71-day window.
Boutique Hotel Direct Bookings: Winning Against the OTAs
Guests find your hotel, then book through an OTA that takes a cut and cancels more often. Here is why the dependence grows, and where a direct booking is won.
Cruise Line Itinerary Marketing: Selling the Route
A cruise line's product is the itinerary, yet most marketing sells the ship. Here is how to market the route, the dates, and the traveler it suits.
How Often Should a Travel Agency Post on Social Media?
There is no universal number, but the data is clear on one thing: going silent for a week costs you more than missing any ideal posting frequency.
Why Your Travel Agency Website Gets No Traffic
The advice to invest in your own site and win search traffic ignores who you are competing against. Here is the structural problem, and what the site is really for.
Travel Agent Social Media Marketing: The Real Constraint
Posting enough to stay visible and posting specifically enough to earn a booking have always pulled against each other. Here is why, and what changes it.
Host Agency Co-op Marketing: What It Covers, Where It Stops
Your commission split already pays for the marketing assets your host agency supplies. Here is what that money buys, and the three things it structurally cannot.