GetYourGuide Summit Week: How we took our biggest annual event to the next level in 2026

For one week each year, the global GetYourGuide team comes together in Berlin to connect across teams, celebrate achievements, and collaborate in one space. In a world where so much happens online, this event is our reminder that in-person moments create the strongest bonds. That’s not just true for our customers, but also for our teams working hard to build the future of travel. 

This April, we did our favorite tradition proud by holding our biggest, boldest, and most inspirational Summit Week yet.

{{divider}}

Our red thread: Lead with experience. Advance with AI.

We came together around a simple idea: experience leads the way, and AI helps us go further, faster. Throughout the week, we focused on how we can work together to combine human expertise, judgment, and taste with technology. The result? Redefining the limits of what’s possible for both travelers and experience creators by seizing every opportunity that AI brings.

Watch the highlights

Follow Marlin Tiyabhorn (Bangkok), Paul Ursulean (Zurich), and Charlie Petera (Berlin) as they share the best bits!

Here’s a recap of what made the week so special.

April 14: ERG Brunch

First, our team gathered for food, drinks, and interactive stations hosted by our Employee Representation Group (ERG). The main focus here was the important work our ERG does all year round: helping ensure everyone at GetYourGuide feels safe and valued, and building an employee experience where every voice counts.

Colleagues explored what the ERG does through activities like:

• Personality quizzes 
• Pitching new employee-driven initiatives
• Friendship bracelet-making 

April 15: Departmental days

By Wednesday, Summit Week was in full flow. Departmental days gave each team a chance to step out of business-as-usual, come together in person, and invest in how we work across projects, roles, and the interfaces we use every day.

While each department ran its day differently, the purpose was consistent across the board:

• Connect with the people you collaborate with most
• Build bridges across roles and sub-teams
• Create momentum you can carry into the rest of the year

April 16 and 17: Global programming

Thursday marked the start of our global programming: two days that brought the whole company into the same space. We filled the Colosseum in Berlin with 1000+ employees, suppliers, and alumni for talks, workshops, hands-on sessions, and lots more.

Opening Fireside Chat: Johannes Reck + Malte Kosub (Parloa)

Our CEO and Co-Founder opened Summit Week’s global schedule in a candid fireside chat with Malte Kosub, CEO and Co-Founder of Parloa. They covered Parloa’s origin story, what it means to scale automation without losing the human core, and the advantages European companies can leverage to compete with big US players.

One line from our CEO, Johannes Reck, captured the heart of the week:

“We’re using AI to bring people closer to the world, not further away from it. We’re still on a mission to unlock experiences together. Other companies optimize for speed and convenience, but we are optimizing for human connection. That’s how we won the last decade, and it’s how we’ll win throughout the AI transformation.”

This talk set the tone for every event that followed; AI is a multiplier, not a replacement. Our job is to leverage its capabilities to grow as a company and keep improving year after year.

Culture Panel: AI in our hands

If the first fireside chat set the direction, this Culture Panel brought things down to earth. Genevieve Vancutsem, Chief People Officer, was joined on stage by Sofia Cianchi, Ting Wang, Navid Abolhasani, and Alex Eftimie for an honest, practical, and open conversation about AI. Genevieve summed up the moment we’re in:

“Culture is something that grows organically. Going through that culture shift towards AI is something we’re all doing together, and it’s in our hands. You’ve built real momentum through curiosity and experimentation, and this is a pivotal moment.”

Our panel shared what got them started, what got in the way, what’s changed in the last year, and what they’re working towards next. The key takeaway was simple and powerful: this is our opportunity to double down on what humans do best - creativity, strategic thinking, context, and judgment.

Supplier Stories: our partners shared growth

This talk highlighted the people who help bring experiences to life every day. Our COO and Co-Founder Tao Tao interviewed a range of experience creators: from walking tours in Boston to the Heineken Museum to boat tours along the Amalfi Coast. 

They each shared insights into their journeys with GetYourGuide and honest feedback on where they still see opportunities to grow. This is invaluable for every employee to hear, as it helps us to shape our product around what truly matters to our partners.

Panels like this are a vital reminder of what our platform is really about: enabling creators to reach travelers worldwide, expand their offering, build customer trust, and deliver unforgettable moments.

Our Brand Story: the next chapter

On Thursday afternoon, our brand leaders took the stage to unpack the next chapter of the GetYourGuide brand. The session explored what makes us who we are, why human expertise is our edge in an AI-shaped world, and how a distinct point of view helps us (and our customers) make confident decisions.

Interactive Meetup: bringing our brand to life

We moved from slides to a multi-sensory, fully immersive journey. The Interactive Meetup brought our creative platform to life through hands-on zones, partner moments, and travel-inspired activations that made our brand feel tangible. 

After picking up a passport and collecting stamps for each area we explored, this inspired afternoon really allowed us to put ourselves in our travelers’ shoes.

It was also a moment of community-building with suppliers, customers, alumni, and AI champions all in the mix. Every attendee got the chance to learn, connect, and leave with a refreshed sense of what we’re building.

AI Keynote

One of the standout AI moments of the week was our keynote with Ashish Rastogi, Director of AI Foundations at Netflix. His talk focused on how AI is rewriting how we work, changing the most valued human skills from ‘doing’ to ‘directing’. His message landed clearly:

“With AI, you have to work through the messiness. Eventually, you’ll start getting better at it. Start the process when the outcomes aren’t coming out as you expect. Then bet on your human ability to get better through experience.” 

We’re past the point of wondering whether AI will matter. The big question now is what we do with it.

AI Builder Track

The AI Builder Track was one of Summit Week 2026’s most hands-on moments, where ideas turned into prototypes. For the first time, 1,000+ colleagues had the chance to come together in one place and learn by doing.

After choosing a focus area (Claude Cowork, Figma Make, Loveable, Langdock, or Cursor) we dove deep into expert tutorials followed by dedicated build time in small groups or solo. 

The result: a unified, company-wide builder mindset that expanded boundaries and allowed us to reimagine what’s possible.

Founders Awards: celebrating the colleagues who lift us up

Summit Week closed its official programming with a moment that always hits home: the Founders Awards. Johannes and Tao took the stage to celebrate colleagues who consistently raise the bar, not just through their outcomes, but in the way they show up for others.

It’s a reminder that performance and culture aren’t separate lanes. The people who help others thrive are the people who help the company thrive.

Festival

We wrapped the week with pure celebration at Festsaal Kreuzberg. Two dance floors. Bands. Home-grown DJs. Karaoke. The Beatles even made an appearance! After dancing the night away, we left buzzing with energy. A perfect ending to a week about connection, momentum, and building the next chapter together.

What we’re taking into the year ahead

If Summit Week 2026 had one underlying lesson, it was this: we don’t have to choose between being human and being high-tech. We can lead with experience (our expertise, judgment, and empathy) and advance with AI to move faster, build smarter, and deliver more unforgettable moments than ever before.

A huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who planned, hosted, spoke, built, supported, facilitated, and brought the energy. Summit Week may only be a week on the calendar, but the momentum we build and the connections we make always last for months to come.

‍