OutRival launches Travel vertical and appoints Jeff Herzfeld as Head of Travel

Digital Workers tackle missed travel leads

OutRival has appointed Jeff Herzfeld as Head of Travel as it formally launches a dedicated Travel vertical. 

In this role, he will lead the company’s strategy, partnerships and go-to-market efforts with cruise lines, hotels and resorts, tour operators and travel agencies.

The move marks OutRival’s entry into a new strategic sector, coming after it moved into insurance in early April. 

The company plans to bring its Digital Workers - AI agents that initiate conversations across voice, SMS, email and chat - to travel operators grappling with volumes of commercial opportunities that human teams cannot handle alone.

“The next generation of travel companies will not win simply because they have more agents. They will win because they remember every customer,” said Timur Meyster, co-founder and president of OutRival. 

“An inquiry is not just a lead. It is a real person with a need that a company is positioned to solve. Our mission is to help travel brands build relationships at a scale that was never possible before. 

"Jeff understands both the technology and the realities of running these operations, making him the ideal person to lead our travel business.”

Herzfeld brings more than 20 years of commercial leadership experience across Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Group, MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. 

Throughout his career, he has led large-scale sales operations, customer experience programmes and technology transformation initiatives covering millions of guest interactions.

“Travel companies already have many of the customers they are looking for — they simply can’t reach all of them,” said Herzfeld. “Every year, millions of warm opportunities go untouched because no human team can consistently follow up with everyone. 

"OutRival changes that. Our Digital Workers help ensure no lead is left behind, turning aged leads into fresh revenue while building stronger customer relationships.”

Founded in Miami, OutRival offers an AI sales force that calls, writes, follows up, qualifies and converts prospects at scale. 

According to the company, its platform has handled more than 11 million outbound conversations and completed more than 36 million data-entry tasks. It integrates with existing CRM systems and, the company says, can be deployed in as little as two weeks.