Founder's Note: An event to bring travel pros together
Written by Victoria Bakos
Join us for WildPlanner's first event in Hoedspruit.
On 25 August 2026, we're getting the travel industry in Hoedspruit together for an evening of drinks, snacks and good conversation. No pitching, no agendas or forced 1:1s and ice breakers. Just us, a space full of people who understand this industry, and a proper excuse to get off our laptops for a night.
We're calling it WildPlanner After Hours, and it's on us. Yes! And the menu sounds delicious.
Why we're doing this
WildPlanner started because we kept hearing the same frustration from operators: the tools built for this industry are either too big, too expensive, or built for someone else's business entirely. We built WildPlanner to fix that. But long before WildPlanner, we built WildHire, and if there's one thing running a jobs platform for this industry taught us, it's that the best ideas, referrals and honest feedback never come from a form. They come from a conversation over a drink with someone who's actually out there doing the work.
Hoedspruit is a small town with an outsized concentration of brilliant travel operators, agents and DMCs. We don't get enough excuses to actually be in a room together. This is that excuse.
What to expect
This is a private, informal get-together for travel operators, agents and DMCs in Hoedspruit and the surrounding area. Drinks and top-tier snacks are covered by the WildPlanner team. If you happen to want to chat to us about WildPlanner while you're there, we'd love that too, but it's genuinely not the point of the evening.
When: 25 August 2026, from 6pm
Where: Hoedspruit (exact location shared on registration)
Cost: Beer, wine, cool drinks and food all on us! <3
Spots are limited and registration is subject to approval, so if you're keen, don't sit on it.
The bigger picture
We're planning to make this a recurring thing, a proper event series where the travel community here can get together without it being tied to a conference, a sales pitch or a favour. If you can't make this one, there'll be another.
If you're a travel operator, agent or DMC in or around Hoedspruit, we'd love to see you there.
Register for WildPlanner After Hours
