CONX 2025: Inside Mize with Dor Krubiner

At this year’s ConX edition, innovation and connection were at the heart of every conversation. Few embodied that spirit better than Dor from Mize. We sat down with Dor to talk about how Mize is reshaping our industry, what it means to build smart, scalable solutions today, and how events like ConX play a role in forging the future of collaboration and technology.

About Mize

Mize is a multi-vertical travel tech company that offers optimization solutions for all travel intermediaries across their entire booking cycle. For our clients, we maximize profits, enhance customer experience, and offer a competitive edge with fintech-based products that offer unique value.

The travel industry is often seen as fragmented with many moving parts. From your perspective, how important is it for all industry stakeholders to be ‘connected’ in today’s market – and how does your company foster these connections? Can you share a success story that illustrates these connections in action?

The idea of connecting the entire travel industry is a bit of a double-edged sword. While it could bring undeniable efficiency and scale, there’s also the risk of displacing many smaller players who struggle to compete in a hyper-connected ecosystem. But connectivity is critical in today’s fast-moving, highly competitive market. At Mize we focus on smart connections that provide unique selling propositions.

Through our Partners Network product, we empower our travel partners to tap into better rates and broader inventory that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to with their existing ecosystem. This approach doesn’t aim to replace their current suppliers or systems but instead enhances their offering and boosts their competitiveness.

One example that illustrates this is a wholesaler who, for years, had to continuously shrink their margins just to maintain their sales volume in an increasingly competitive market. By integrating with our Partners Network, they were able to access more competitive content and regain the profitability they had lost. This connection allowed them not only to stay afloat but to reposition themselves for sustainable growth in a challenging environment.

In our increasingly digital world, traditional human connections sometimes take a backseat. How does your organization ensure that personal, human interactions continue to thrive, both internally and with your customers? What specific initiatives or technologies are you employing to make digital interactions as meaningful as face-to-face engagements?

At Mize, personal connection is at the heart of everything we do, both internally with our team and externally with our clients. We believe that even in an increasingly digital world, human interactions are irreplaceable, and this is the foundation of our culture and strategy.

Around 70% of our client relationships are built face-to-face, at travel shows and industry events across the globe. From the beginning, we recognized the importance of physical presence in the travel ecosystem. That’s why we actively participate in leading global events like Phocuswright, WTM, ITB, ATM, and one of our absolute favorites, CONX. These gatherings allow us to form deeper partnerships, connecting beyond business in ways digital tools can’t fully replicate.

Internally, we prioritize that same commitment to real connection. While we work remotely and hybrid across various countries, we prioritize personal bonds and team spirit through daily collaboration with remote-friendly tools like Slack, Monday, and Google Meet. But most importantly, we go beyond the screen.

Every year, we organize the “Mize Trip”, a global team retreat that brings together all employees from across the world. It’s an opportunity to meet in person, share experiences, and strengthen the culture we've built together. The annual trip, along with our digital touchpoints, ensures that our team stays united and inspired, no matter where we are.

At Mize, we don’t see technology as a replacement for human interaction—we see it as a bridge to enhance and maintain meaningful relationships across borders, with both our clients and our team.

Every industry faces its own challenges, and travel is no exception. What do you believe are the most pressing challenges in the travel industry today, and how is your company planning to tackle them? How do you see these strategies evolving with the continuous changes in consumer behavior and technology?

The travel industry is full of opportunities right now. People are eager to explore, and technology is finally catching up to what travelers actually want. Of course, there are challenges. Rising costs, thin margins, and systems that make simple tasks harder than they need to be.

We’re helping our partners grow by focusing on what matters most: increasing profits, creating smoother experiences for travelers, and standing out in a crowded market. Our tools give companies better control over their finances, smarter ways to price and sell, and the flexibility to adapt quickly. It’s not about doing more work, but doing the right work with better results.

Travelers are also changing. They expect things to work quickly, clearly, and on their terms. So we’re focused on tools that give our partners that flexibility: real-time insights, fast integrations, and better ways to serve their customers.

We believe travel companies can grow faster and work smarter, not just react to change but actually stay ahead of it. That’s the future we’re building toward.

Relationships are everything in this industry. At the end of the day, travel is about connection between people, places, and experiences. And that mindset absolutely carries over to how we build our business.

Events like ConX and AfterX are reminders that growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s the result of real conversations, shared challenges, and trust that’s built over time. For us, partnerships with intermediaries, suppliers, and fintech collaborators aren’t transactional, they’re long-term plays. We grow when our partners grow. This is why we focus so much on aligning goals, sharing insights, and building solutions that create value on both sides.

When it comes to measuring impact, we look beyond surface-level metrics. Of course, we track revenue and performance outcomes, but we also watch for signs of deeper collaboration: are our partners co-creating with us? Are they staying longer, scaling faster, and leaning into the tech we build together? That kind of engagement tells us we’re doing something right.

Ultimately, strong relationships are a competitive advantage. They open doors to new ideas, accelerate innovation, and keep us grounded in what matters most—solving real problems with people we trust.

B2B travel distribution is a rapidly shifting landscape. What is your perspective on the current trends in B2B travel distribution, and what do you foresee in the near future? Are there any emerging technologies or partnerships that you are particularly excited about in this realm?

B2B travel distribution is moving fast, and honestly, it’s about time. For too long, it's been weighed down by clunky systems, slow processes, and a lack of transparency. But right now, we’re seeing a real shift toward smarter, leaner, and more agile models. And that’s where things start to get exciting.

What we’re seeing now is a shift toward value-driven distribution. Intermediaries aren’t just looking for access to more inventory. They want ways to grow their margins, stand out in the market, and deliver a better experience to their customers. That’s where our fintech layer really makes a difference. We’re focused on helping partners offer unique value to travelers: more flexibility, smarter pricing, and a smoother booking experience, while also increasing their own profits. At the same time, we’re building novel solutions that give them a competitive edge in a crowded market. For example, Price Drop Protection, the latest release in our Fintech Suite, gives our clients a new revenue stream while adding unique value to their platforms that ultimately increases end customer loyalty and conversions. 

At Mize, innovation isn’t just a buzzword. It’s our mindset. We’re constantly challenging how things have always been done, and asking how we can make them better, faster, and more profitable for our clients. Whether it’s new tech integrations, smarter automation, or data that drives better decisions, we’re not here to follow the curve. We’re here to shape it.

How do you believe events like ConX help to unify the fragmented travel industry and drive innovation and growth? What advice would you give to other industry players seeking to strengthen their networks and relationships in today’s dynamic environment?

Events like ConX are critical in bringing the travel industry closer together. It’s an ecosystem made up of many moving parts, and easy for companies to stay in their own corners. ConX creates a space where we can have honest conversations, explore different perspectives, and work on the challenges that affect all of us. That kind of connection helps spark ideas that lead to real progress.

For us, these events are less about talking and more about listening. We get to learn what our partners are struggling with, what’s working for them, and where they want to go next. That input directly shapes how we build and improve our solutions.

If I had one piece of advice for others in the industry, it’s to treat networking as a long-term investment. Don’t show up just to sell. Show up to understand. The strongest partnerships come from shared goals and clear communication, not from quick wins. Especially in a fast-moving environment like this, it’s the companies that stay connected, collaborative, and adaptable that will keep moving forward.