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00:00OUR GUEST IS THE CEO AND COFOUNDER OF A MARKETPLACE FIRM. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THIS GLOBAL TRAVEL DEBACLE, AND HOW LONG THIS GOES ON FOR? RUZWANA: UNFORTUNATELY, WE ' VE ALL SEEN IT. THOUGHTS ARE GETTING CANCELED AT A RATE OF ABOUT 1.3%. RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE DOUBLED YEAR-OVER-YEAR SINCE LAST YEAR. VERY RECENTLY WE ' VE SEEN THAT GO TO ABOUT 5%, FLIGHTS BEING CANCELED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. AND A HUGE AMOUNT OF DELAYS. THERE ARE BIG LABOR SHORTAGES GOING ON, THERE ARE MAJOR DELAYS ESPECIALLY IN HUBS LIKE CHICAGO, NEW YORK, DALLAS, MIAMI, AND LOS ANGELES. AT LEAST 50 MILLION AMERICANS ARE PLANNING FOURTH OF JULY TRAVEL. PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO PUT THAT OFF, DESPITE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES IN THE ECONOMY. WE WILL SEE RECORD LEVELS OF PEOPLE GOING OUT AND TRAVELING AGAIN, BUT THE DISRUPTIONS ARE HERE AND PRETTY SERIOUS. BEAR THAT IN MIND IF YOU ' RE PLANNING TO TRAVEL RIGHT NOW. EMILY: WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING TO HAPPEN OVER THIS HOLIDAY WEEK? ANY TRENDS YOU ' RE SPOTTING IN PARTICULAR? RUZWANA: WE ' RE SEEING THE AMOUNT OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL IS MUCH HIGHER THAN IT HAS BEEN IN THE COVID ERA. THE KIND OF THINGS WE ' VE SEEN PEOPLE SEEING WITH THE FOURTH OF JULY EXPERIENCE, SHARK DIVING IN MIAMI, KAYAKING ON RIVERS, JET SKIING AROUND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, A LOT OF PEOPLE GETTING OUTDOORS ON THE WATER AND MAKING THE MOST OF THE SUMMER WEATHER. WITH 50 MILLION AMERICANS TRAVELING, WERE GOING TO SEE VERY BUSY ATTRACTIONS AS WELL AS AIRPORTS. WE WILL SEE VERY CONGESTED HIGHWAYS AS WELL. EMILY: SHARK DIVING IN MIAMI, THAT SOUNDS FUN. YOU JUST WON THE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD, CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT. AND LAUNCHING A PARTNERSHIP WITH JETBLUE, WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR AGAINST THE CONTEXT OR BACKDROP OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MACROECONOMY? RUZWANA: WE ARE BASICALLY SHOP A FINE OR EXPERIENCES. PROVIDING SOFTWARE FOR SMALL AND LARGE BUSINESSES TO GET ONLINE. THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THE BUSINESSES WE WORK WITH WERE HIT HARD. WE DEFINITELY SAW OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THERE ARE WINNERS AND LOSERS. IT IS BECOME OUT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC, WE ARE SEEING CONSUMERS WANT TO TRAVEL AND HAVE YOU EXPERIENCES. DESPITE SOME OF THE THINGS WE ' VE SEEN WITH INFLATION, THE DONE NIGHT -- DYNAMICS WE ' RE SEEING PLAY OUT, PEOPLE ARE STILL WANTING TO DO THAT. WE ' RE NOT SEEING THAT GO AWAY. THERE WAS AN $80 MILLION ROUND AND GOLDMAN SACHS JOINING OUR BOARD. WE ' RE SEEING A LOT OF MOMENTUM IN OUR SPACE AND A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY. AS WE GO INTO THE NEXT PHASE OVER THE NEXT YEAR, WE ARE DEFINITELY HELPING EMPOWER OUR CREATIVE PARTNERS THAT WE WORK WITH TO BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH WHAT WILL I THINK BE MORE CHALLENGING MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS. EMILY: THE FORMER CFO OF AIRBNB JOINED YOUR BOARD. HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH PEAKS IN BUSINESS WITH WHAT WERE SEEING WITH COMPANIES LIKE AIRBNB WHICH CAN BE SOME SORT OF RAMEN OR CONSUMER SENTIMENT? HOW ARE YOU AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, WHAT ADVICE ARE YOU GETTING FROM INVESTORS ABOUT HOW TO WHETHER A POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT DOWNTURN? RUZWANA: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS VERY INTERESTING ABOUT OUR BUSINESS, FIRST WE WERE PROFITABLE, SO WE ARE A RARE TECH BUSINESS THAT TAKE ECONOMICS AND PROFITABILITY VERY SERIOUSLY. WE ARE IN A POSITION AROUND CONTINUING TO INVEST AND HELPING OUR BUSINESSES GET THROUGH THIS. RATHER LIKE SHOP A FINE, WE ARE WORKING WITH THOUSANDS OF BUSINESSES AND HELPING THEM TAKE THEIR BUSINESS ONLINE. IN DOING SO, THE AVERAGE BUSINESS THAT PARTNERS WITH US SEES THEIR REVENUES INCREASED BY ABOUT 30%. SAVING THEM TONS OF TIME, HOURS OF AUTOMATION THAT WE PROVIDE. WE ARE HEARING FROM LARGE BUSINESSES AND SMALL BUSINESSES SAYING WE KNOW THAT THE BOTTOM LINE REALLY MATTERS NOW AND IT MATTERS THAT WE FIND WAYS TO CUT COSTS AND GROW OUR TOP LINE. WE THINK PEOPLE STILL NEED THESE MOMENTS OF CONNECTION AND JOY AND WE SPECIALIZE IN EVERYDAY ADVENTURE. IT ' S AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE WILL SEE BUSINESSES NEEDING AUTOMATION AND KEYBOARD TECHNOLOGY. CONSUMERS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO AS MANY OF THESE BIG TRIPS, THIS SUMMER BEING A PLACE WHERE

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Travel Nightmare Is Back with a Vengeance

Peek CEO Ruzwana Bashir joins Emily Chang to break down the global airline strain prompting airlines cancelling flights across the board, travel trends and consumer behavior, and what to expect as we head into the July 4th holiday weekend. (Source: Bloomberg)

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