Believe it or not, Expedia spends somewhere between $500 million and $600 million every year on technology to "improve the customer experience".
This level of investment is being cited as a reason for a significant number of repeat customers coming to online travel agency's main website in recent years.
Vikram Malhi, managing director of Expedia Asia, speaking at a Bangalore conference (STB-WIT India Travel Executive Forum) run by the Singapore Tourism Board and WebInTravel, says investing in user experience can lay claim to the up-tick in repeat customers in countries such as India.
In particular, among the lines of businesses that Expedia Asia focuses on, Malhi says the hotel business is performing "really well".
Other reasons that contribute to the increase in repeat customers is the range of product offering from Expedia, Malhi claims.
Irrespective of the huge investment in technology, when it comes to selling holiday packages online, Malhi acknowledges it is an area which still poses challenges.
In India, a package is not just a flight + hotel combination. Rather, a package is a combination of flight, hotel, car, food, passport processing, transfers, etc, unlike other markets across Europe or countries such as Singapore and Japan where a package traditionally relates to solely a flight + hotel product.
Malhi says:
"It's not about just showing 150,000 options, its about how you show the most relevant options to consumers. We are not getting into the stage of showing something to customers that they like. Delivering very relevant content in holiday packages is a key."
Malhi says the company is "quite far away" when it comes to figuring out a technology solution for holiday packages. When Indians expect every aspect of the trip (transfer, food, etc) to be in one place online, Malhi says it will "take longer" to meet this need.
Indian market challenges
Expedia concedes that it faced a number of challenges when it launched in India, including around payment issues. In addition, customers often call hotels and therefore bypass booking online, mainly because they are used to talking to someone.
After spending the three years to 2011 customizing and ensuring its local service operates in the same manner as its global platform, Malhi claims it is now a strong competitor to the local OTAs in India such as MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, and Yatra.
Still, the total number of Indian online hotel bookings that Expedia Asia receives is smaller than what Expedia gets from its presence in Japan.
Malhi argues that no single player can claim a market leading position in India.
Despite its relative small size, Singapore is one of the top three outbound travel destinations for Indian travellers, with other popular spots including Thailand, Middle East and Dubai.
When it comes to mobile traction, Expedia already sees about 25% of bookings coming via mobile channels, with high ticket items "increasingly purchased in mobile," says Malhi.
When asked about the tours and activities market in India, Malhi says again there is no single player who consolidates all product options. Expedia currently has around 7,000 online products available, such as tickets to Eiffel Tower and other high profile global attractions.