Future Lanes Ep 3: Let’s Talk Direct | Michel Taride on the road to disruption and discovery

“Exclusivity can sometimes limit customer choice and push operators into suboptimal business decisions. Today, partnerships that prioritize mutual benefits and customer-centric solutions are the way forward.” – Michel Taride

Michel Taride began his career at Hertz in 1980, a time when car rental operations were a far cry from today’s tech-savvy landscape. Hertz was among the first car rental companies to launch a website, paving the way for real-time bookings and greater transparency. Today, the industry stands on the brink of another revolution. These technologies, coupled with new mobility models like car sharing, ride-hailing, and autonomous vehicles, promise to transform how consumers engage with transportation.

For Mike McGearty, CEO and co-founder of Meili, the car rental industry's current challenge is modernizing its legacy systems to address the friction points that persist in customer experiences. Meili, the technology platform McGearty leads, is designed to empower service providers by streamlining direct distribution, improving data usage, and enhancing the end-to-end customer journey.

In this episode, both McGearty and Taride discuss and debate their differences, similarities, and all the ways the industry is rapidly changing. 

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“Future Lanes” is a special WiT Podcast series powered by Meili, a tech company that is rewriting the rules of ancillary distribution. The series, covering six episodes, is all about getting direct – cutting through the noise with unfiltered conversations on what’s shaping the next decade of travel. No fluff – just straight, feisty talk about what it takes to find your future lane in travel.