NEW YORK, Oct 11 — The future of air travel and the sharing economy were among some of the subjects on the table at a forum that’s been described as the equivalent of TED Talks for travel.

A roster of 25 of the most innovative and influential travel executives gathered at the Skift Global Forum at the New York Times Center on Thursday to discuss the state — and future — of travel.

Skift is a travel intelligence company for the travel trade industry.

One of the more interesting points came from Airbnb’s head of global hospitality and strategy Chip Conley, who said the landscape of short-term rental hosts has changed dramatically in just six years.

In 2008 and 2009, for instance, those hit hard by the global economic crisis began turning to Airbnb to supplement their income. But in recent years, Conley said an entirely different group has emerged the fastest growing segment of Airbnb hosts: empty nesters.

“These are people like me who have older kids who have moved out, who got laid off last year, and still want to stay in their home,” he said.

In fact, the average age of people who attend their annual hosting summit in San Francisco is 45, he added.

“The nature of Airbnb is changing and evolving and some of the people getting involved today are more serious. It’s actually bringing out the parents of the millennials saying, ‘I think that I can do that as well.’”

In his presentation, founding CEO of Virgin America, Fred Reid, suggested that airline websites will become obsolete, and that the future of airline booking will be mobile apps.

He also pointed out that the most popular airlines have one thing in common: good people. The same can also be said of bad airlines which are staffed with hostile people.

Here are some other interesting findings and quotes came out of Thursday’s conference, as reported by the Twittersphere:

“@AmericanAir is managing 6,000 tweets every day. That's about 240 tweets/hour! Their goal? To answer questions within 15 mins.”

@theAPEXAssoc

78 per cent of Airbnb users submit reviews — an impressive statistic.

It costs from US$100,000 to US$200,000 to repaint an aircraft, and 180 gallons of paint. — AFP-Relaxnews