In The Big Chair - Dana Dunne of eDreams Odigeo

Dana Dunne, CEO

A product of modern venture money, eDreams Odigeo is the group behind some of Europe's most well-known brands outside of the so-called Big Two.

The former EasyJet and AOL executive is steering the company through a critical time for online travel agencies, with a mixture of frenemy-type partnerships and focus on markets that work.

Six years with the company, three as CEO - what has been the biggest challenge over that time?

My journey at eDreams Odigeo has afforded me many different perspectives, first as COO, now as CEO.

As we grew out of acquisitions, assembling a collection of leading brands in their respective markets, the challenge for us was to integrate these companies into one coherent system.

We have now achieved this and are able to leverage our scale effectively by investing in cutting-edge technologies and processes so we can develop the best possible products and services for our customers.

We now have one integrated system, one process. We develop once and push out to 43 countries, 20 languages, 30 currencies and four brands. This is what makes us the number-one flight retailer in Europe, and one of the top two providers in most main European markets. 

Explain in one or two sentences what it is like operating in the European online travel agency ecosystem?

Fast-paced! In the OTA ecosystem, the ability and willingness to continually adapt and improve is one of the keys to success.

At eDreams Odigeo, we’re always trialing new capabilities, and one of our biggest strengths is our ability to balance our size with a high level of agility to deliver such features.

In the last financial year, we were able to implement over 6,000 new features across our various platforms, whilst testing new products and services on thousands of users each month.

We’ve also invested in reducing development delivery times by 55%. This means that changes to all 245 websites and apps can be implemented within 15 minutes in some cases, allowing us to meet changing customer needs quickly.

What other travel brands do you fear the most, and why?

As a company, we find ourselves in an advantageous position as leader of the European online leisure travel market - an accolade we’ve retained for several years now.

With deals available from over 575 airline partners and up to one billion searches taking place via our platforms every month, our scale provides us with unique and invaluable customer insight.

This said, we always look to keep our finger on the pulse of the industry, and ensure we’re at the forefront of market innovation.

Essential to this is our diverse range of relationships with partners, suppliers and intermediaries that provide us with a comprehensive and in-depth view of the sector. 

Are all of the eDreams Odigeo brands controlled by the center of the organization, or are they left to establish their own marketing and product strategies?

Our central marketing function in our Barcelona headquarters oversees marketing across the whole group, but all brands have their own level of autonomy because we recognise that different markets have different needs.

There are some fantastic travel brands out there, and I’m pleased to say we work with many of them, but I find myself more intrigued with what the next big disruptor will look like.

Dana Dunne

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Each of our brands has their own identity, and this is part of what makes us one of the top flight retailers in many countries across Europe.

The important thing is that the culture and overarching strategies of each business are aligned.

At eDreams Odigeo, all our businesses are united under one shared vision: to become the one-stop shop for travel.

In order to achieve this, our brands work together to harness technology, promote co-operation and encourage personal, as well as collective, excellence.

Each and every one of our brands is tied together by a core promise to help people discover their world through travel.

After a frenetic period following the corporate takeover in 2010 and the IPO, eDreams Odigeo has been fairly quiet on the mergers and aquisitions front aside from BudgetPlaces. Why is that?

Budgetplaces was a great acquisition for us. Not only did it provide access to innovative technology, but it also allowed us to improve our product diversification, in line with the company’s wider business strategy.

The main focus of the business, however, is on delivering against our clear strategy to create a sustainable, long-term business.

We are in phase three of our five-year transformation program and we are making demonstrable progress.

We are continuing to deliver against our KPIs, and we have recently marked the 14th consecutive quarter that eDreams Odigeo has met or exceeded financial guidance, reaching over €500 million in annual revenue for the first time in the company’s history.

Whilst we are always open to explore M&A opportunities that will deliver incremental value to our business, our central focus is on delivering against our strategy and continuing to provide our customers with the best possible service, providing a solution to all of their travel needs. 

How does the organization expand now?

When it comes to the OTA industry, the future is undoubtedly mobile.

Mobile is expected to contribute to 87% of total industry growth from 2017 to 2020, and we are already ahead of the curve, with mobile set to deliver our largest source of traffic in FY19.

One of our biggest strengths is our ability to balance our size with a high level of agility to deliver new features.

Dana Dunne

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We are also better positioned than anyone else in the market to take advantage of this growth, with the leading mobile app in the industry, achieving 35% of all flight bookings – well ahead of the industry average of 24%.

Elsewhere in the business, we’re using innovative technology to reimagine the customer’s travel experience.

Machine-based learning, a form of algorithmic analysis that presents customers with the most relevant offers, is anticipating the specific needs of individual travellers.

As we provide more tailored services for customers, whether that be a good value and convenient flight, or a range of ancillary product options, we’re seeing more customers using our business as a one-stop travel shop.

Aside from our technology-first approach, eDreams Odigeo is also accelerating the transformation of our revenue model, by providing wider access to a range of products and services.

Whilst we continue to grow the sale of traditional and innovative flight-related ancillaries, we are also taking advantage of the huge business opportunity beyond flights, for example in dynamic packages - tailored packages that allow customers to add extras like accommodation and car rental to their flights - where we saw 24% growth in revenue margin in 2017/18.

A number of the company's brands are acting as affiliates of Booking.com for hotel sales. What is the strategy behind that, and why not operate your accommodation bookings yourself, rather than feeding a rival?

By definition, we don’t own hotels, aircraft or cars, but we make sure our customers can access these services through our various partnerships.

Our mission is to give customers the ability to build a unique travel plan that is right for them and that meets all their travel needs.

To ensure that our customers have the best possible experience, we integrate with a host of providers including other intermediaries and, in some instances, we offer white-label inventory to make the process as smooth as possible for customers.

We have great consumer brands supported through strong partnerships, and we use our scale to leverage this to our customers’ benefit.

What is the strategy now for Opodo - a once extremely well-known brand that some argue did not seize the opportunity taken by its rivals in the mid- to late-2000s? 

Opodo remains one of the group’s strongest brands across our northern European markets, including Germany and the United Kingdom.

For example, in Germany we remain the number-one flight retailer, with high levels of customer satisfaction, loyalty and customer advocacy.

Like other brands in our group, our scale and investment in Opodo continues to leverage the focus we place on developing great products and services for our customers.

In Germany, Opodo won the 2017 Service Champion award, putting it among the 325 best companies for customer service, and in the U.K. it was awarded the Best Flight Booking Website for the third year in a row at the British Travel Awards last year.

EDreams Odigeo has had a high-profile and long-running feud with Ryanair over alleged "screen-scraping." What has been the company's strategy in recent years to ensure such incidents do not come to the fore again?

At eDreams Odiego, we are constantly innovating on behalf of our customers to provide them with the best experience.

We value the relationships we have built with airlines and look to develop these further. In the age of the internet, people want the freedom to search where and when they want, with speed and choice when it comes to booking.

It’s an exciting market, and we help airlines provide the best experience possible for customers. 

Are there any particular cultural or strategic traits within the company that have held firm since the formation of eDreams in 2000?

Since eDreams Odigeo’s inception, the company has been extremely passionate about making travel easier and more accessible for customers.

We do this by putting technology to work on behalf of customers, creating tailored travel plans that offer the best price and greatest convenience.

We have an unrelenting focus that we apply to every decision we make and everything we create as a business.

At the heart of this is our great team of young, dynamic and talented professionals from over 65 different countries.

We aim to attract the best talent from across the world, and I truly believe this is one of the keys to our success.

Our people work together to achieve a shared vision - becoming a one-stop shop for travel - and this helps guide employees in their work every day.

Our passion is travel, our business is technology, but it is the incredible work of our colleagues that makes us one of the world’s most successful online travel agencies.

Some questions about you... What did you learn during your time at both EasyJet and AOL that has helped you with running eDreams Odigeo?

AOL was a completely online consumer business, which means it has to be extremely agile, whilst utilising every avenue of online marketing.

This is something I have tried to instill during my leadership at eDreams Odigeo, and we pride ourselves on our nimbleness and ability to develop and create swiftly and effectively.

During my time at EasyJet, the company experienced a period of rapid growth. This required a lean mentality, and a fixation on customer experience as a means of disrupting the market.

At eDreams Odigeo, we place a similar level of emphasis on the customer, but for us, business change is executed through technology and innovation.

That is why we have built a team of 400 software engineers, embedded throughout the business, to enable us to continually improve customer experience and positively impact business results.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are two areas where we’ve invested heavily over the last few years, and cutting-edge technology is enabling us to create a truly personalised travel experience.

How much of your work time do you try to keep unscheduled, if any?

Generally, I try to keep about 15% of my diary free. Inevitably things come up, which means this isn’t always achievable, but I think it’s a good discipline.

I usually spend this time meeting with individual team members, addressing adhoc needs so we can speed up progress and decision making.

What travel industry brand do you wish you'd thought of first?

There are some fantastic travel brands out there, and I’m pleased to say we work with many of them, but I find myself more intrigued with what the next big disruptor will look like.

What will be the next big innovation to shake up the travel world, and how will the competition adapt?

Whilst we admire and learn from many of our peers, at eDreams Odigeo we make it our goal to be one step ahead when it comes to technology and innovation.

Are you the IT support guy in your own home?

Yes, yes and yes. During my career, I’ve been involved in everything IT, from writing code to building networks.

Whether it’s fixing the Wi-Fi or internal cabling, my experience comes in handy ... Although I’m not sure whether it’s more a gift or a curse!