Welcome to Spark26: Your Roadmap to the Days Ahead
Welcome to Austin — and welcome to Spark26!

Your Spark experience starts with a fast-paced guide to everything waiting for you over the next few days. We’ll show you how to navigate the venue, use the Spark mobile app, and find can’t-miss sessions and experiences. We’ll also walk through meals, receptions, and complimentary Spark Local Adventures, plus share a few insider tips to help you maximize your time with fellow operators, partners, sponsors, and the FareHarbor team.
No matter if this is your first summit or you’re joining us again, you’ll leave with a game plan for every session, conversation, and opportunity. Then, we’ll head into the Opening Reception to officially kick off Spark26.

Spark26 Opening Reception: A Lakeside Welcome
You’ve arrived. Now, let the conversations begin.

Gather with hundreds of tour and activity operators, partners, industry leaders, and the FareHarbor team as we kick off Spark26 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Austin. Overlooking the shores of Lady Bird Lake with sweeping views of the downtown skyline, it’s the perfect place to reconnect with familiar faces, build new relationships, and settle into the Spark community. Enjoy local bites, drinks, live music, and a few uniquely Austin surprises as you exchange ideas, grow your network, and soak in the energy of the evening.

We’ll see you on the lake.

Work Smarter: Accelerate Your Operations with Automations
Running your business shouldn’t mean spending hours answering the same guest questions, training seasonal staff, tracking down waivers, and managing countless small tasks. This operations-focused session will show you how to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on the work that actually grows your business. FareHarbor experts will explore built-in FareHarbor automations, simple webhooks and Zapier workflows, AI-assisted documentation, and other approachable automation strategies that reduce manual work without adding unnecessary complexity.. You’ll gain actionable ideas to improve consistency, create a smoother guest and staff experience, and free up more time to deliver incredible tours and experiences.

Become a FareHarbor Power User: Take Your Dashboard to the Next Level
This session is designed for operators who already know FareHarbor Dashboard basics and want to work faster, smarter, and more strategically within the platform. We’ll explore resources, pricing tools, calendar strategies, and other features that can help you simplify your day-to-day operations.. You’ll discover practical ways to improve efficiency, reduce manual work, increase visibility into the business, and create meaningful competitive advantages as you grow.

Beneath the Surface LIVE: The State of the Industry
Get an exclusive first look at the trends shaping the future of tours and activities before FareHarbor’s annual Beneath the Surface report is released. FareHarbor’s Commercial and Marketing leaders will share what we’re seeing across the industry’s largest network of tours and activity operators. Together, we’ll unpack the biggest shifts emerging through the first three quarters of the year, from traveler behavior and booking patterns to pricing, distribution, and market momentum. You’ll leave with a better understanding of the industry and what this means for operators heading into 2027.

Beyond Click Rate: Email Strategies That Drive Bookings
Email marketing is so much more than open and click rates. In this advanced panel and AMA, FareHarbor experts, email marketing specialists, and industry partners will explore how operators use customer behavior, automation, and the right data to build smarter campaigns. You’ll learn how to move beyond basic newsletters and towards an email strategy that creates measurable business outcomes.

Building Your Distribution Strategy: Lessons from Experienced Operators
Every operator’s path to a successful distribution strategy is different. Join three established operators as they share how they built their channel mix, the opportunities and challenges they’ve encountered, and the decisions that shaped their approach over time. Rather than hearing a one-size-fits-all formula, this conversation is designed to help you see what’s possible, learn from real-world experiences, and leave with ideas you can apply to your own business — no matter where you are in your distribution journey.

Built to Scale: Real Stories of Business Growth
Every growing business reaches a point where what worked in the early days no longer works at scale. In this operator-led panel, FareHarbor’s Senior Director of Account Management will sit down with leaders who have expanded in different ways, from adding locations and growing fleets, to franchising, acquiring businesses, and more. They’ll share the pivotal decisions, unexpected challenges, and operational changes that enabled sustainable growth, along with the lessons they wish they’d learned sooner. Whether you’re preparing for your next major expansion or simply building a business that’s ready for what’s next, you’ll leave with helpful insights from operators who’ve navigated the journey firsthand.

Don’t Leave Money on the Table: Build a More Profitable Calendar
Revenue growth isn’t just about getting more bookings, it’s about making the most of the demand you already have. Learn how successful operators use pricing, distribution, and booking optimization to build more profitable businesses without adding unnecessary complexity. We’ll explore revenue strategies and real customer examples, along with FareHarbor tools including Dynamic Pricing, Affiliate Rules, Waitlists, and Combos that can help you respond strategically to changing demand. You’ll leave with a simple roadmap and three applicable actions you can take to strengthen your revenue strategy next quarter.

Get Discovered: Your Next Guest is Asking ChatGPT
How do platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews decide which tour operators to recommend? In this session, you’ll learn how clear messaging, trustworthy content, and a well-structured website help your business appear in AI-powered search results. Walk away with an effective framework and actionable ways to strengthen your visibility, reach more travelers, and drive more bookings.

Leadership Panel: Growing & Leading Teams in 2026
Join a panel of experts as they share lessons learned and best practices for hiring, team management, and retention strategies to scale your tour business in 2026.

Organized Networking: Connect by Tour Type
Meet with operators who run businesses like yours. In this structured networking session, attendees will be grouped by tour type to exchange business and market insights, discuss shared challenges, and explore possible solutions. Guided conversation prompts will help each group share recent wins, emerging opportunities, and ideas they can take back to their own teams. Space is limited, and advance registration is required.

Organized Networking: Ask the Experts
Bring your biggest business challenges to the table. In this structured networking session, operators will participate in discussions centered on common challenges across the tours and activities industry. Subject matter experts will help guide each conversation and offer actionable insights, while attendees share what has — or hasn’t — worked for their businesses. You’ll leave with fresh perspectives, useful connections, and new ideas to explore.

Organized Networking: Women in Tourism
Join women from across the tours and activities industry for a structured networking session focused on the realities of building careers, leading teams, and growing businesses in tourism. Through guided small-group conversations, attendees will exchange experiences, discuss common professional and operational challenges, and explore approaches that have helped them adapt and succeed. The session offers an opportunity to learn from a range of roles and perspectives, build useful industry relationships, and leave with practical ideas to apply in your own work.

Operator Exchange: Share Your Dashboard Secrets
Keep the ideas flowing after Become a Dashboard Power User in this informal exchange for existing and aspiring Dashboard power users. Connect with fellow operators to compare favorite reports and workflows, share clever shortcuts, uncover hidden features, and explore creative ways to use the Dashboard to make smarter business decisions. Think of it as an operator show-and-tell: less presentation, more conversation. Whether you’re already building advanced Dashboards or just starting to unlock Dashboard’s full potential, you’ll leave with fresh inspiration, useful tips, and a few new tricks to try when you get home.

Product Keynote: Powering the Future of Revenue Management
In FareHarbor’s inaugural Product Keynote, our VP of Product will reveal howFareHarbor is evolving beyond booking software to help tour and activity operators grow revenue and run stronger businesses. You’ll get an exclusive look at the year’s biggest product innovations, be among the first to see new capabilities launching at Spark, and hear how we’re investing in the tools, insights, and intelligence built for the experience industry. You’ll see where FareHarbor is headed and how the next generation of our products can support your growth.

Put AI to Work: 3 Ways to Market Your Tours Faster
Many operators are hearing nonstop buzz about AI but are unsure how to use it in ways that will actually save time and improve marketing results. This session focuses on tactical, real-world strategies operators can use AI to market their business faster — from turning customer reviews into fresh marketing content to quickly launching seasonal or last-minute promotions when bookings slow down.

Operator Exchange: Navigate the Realities of Scaling
The discussion doesn’t have to stop when the “Built to Scale: Real Stories of Business Growth” session ends. Join the presenters and fellow operators for an informal conversation about the realities of scaling a tours and activities business. Whether you’re preparing for a new stage of growth or already navigating the complexities of expansion, this is an opportunity to ask follow-up questions, exchange ideas, and connect with operators facing similar opportunities and challenges. No presentations, no agenda — just candid, operator-led conversations with peers who are building what’s next.

Tap Into Your Expansion Potential: A Playbook for Sustainable Growth
Growth looks different for every business. Whether you’re adding a new experience, opening another location, or launching an entirely new business, successful expansion starts long before opening day. In this session, we’ll walk through three real-world growth scenarios and the key questions operators should ask before taking the next step. You’ll learn how to evaluate new opportunities, prepare your operation for growth, and use FareHarbor tools to support areas like booking flows, Dashboard structure, marketing, and cross-selling. You’ll leave with a repeatable business plan and actionable ideas to help you grow strategically and sustainably.

The Future of Distribution: Insights with Industry Leaders
Distribution has become one of the most important — and fastest-changing — drivers of growth for tours and activity operators. Join FareHarbor’s VP of Distribution for a conversation with leaders from some of the travel industry’s most influential distribution partners. They’ll discuss how the landscape is evolving, emerging opportunities for operators, and what’s on the horizon for 2027 and beyond. Expect candid insights, diverse perspectives, and an inside look from the companies helping shape the future of travel discovery and booking.

Spark26 Closing Reception: One Last Texas Adventure
There’s no better way to wrap up Spark26than with an evening under the Texas stars. Join the FareHarbor community as we head to the iconic Lone Star Ranch for authentic Texas hospitality, incredible food, live entertainment, and a few surprises you won’t want to miss. Experience the charm of a real Texas ranch, reconnect with new friends, celebrate everything we’ve learned together, and toast to the adventures ahead. We’ll take care of your ride — you just bring your appetite, your dancing shoes, and your Spark stories.