Expedia Group has had a test and learn philosophy
for many years. That philosophy has likely accelerated with
the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and the rapid pace of
development.
Group CEO Ariane Gorin has adopted the philosophy herself—spending
a couple of hours on the weekend experimenting with ChatGPT, Gemini and
Perplexity.
“Obviously I spend a lot of time on our own apps, and it's
just fascinating how
quickly things evolve and how different searches
will show different results. Again, this is why for our team, we just need to
stay at the forefront and be experimenting.”
She was speaking earlier this week during an interview with PhocusWire in Los Angeles at the Americas Lodging
Investment Summit (ALIS), produced by the BHN Group—another brand of Northstar Travel Group. Gorin described AI as Expedia Group's “third
chapter” after the internet and mobile, since launching 30 years ago.
Gorin is especially proud of how the company has been “going after
AI” in the past two years, she said.
Although two thirds of the group’s business comes direct to
its brands, according to Gorin, it’s important for it to be visible on the AI
platforms for the remaining third.
“Just like in traditional search, the question was: How do we
make sure that our brands show up well there? Whether it's in searching or as
travelers are going deeper in discovery, it's the same thing in AI. And then,
with regard to agentic, I think there are huge
opportunities to make travelers' experience better.”
Gorin
also discussed how the company thinks of recent developments such as the launch
of Universal Commerce Protocol by Google. One element is to ensure its
technology is set up for the rapid evolution, she said, and then there’s the
business question.
“What is going to be a great traveler experience? If you
think there's going to be a really good traveler experience, then we could
participate in it.”
Additionally, Gorin touched on Expedia’s recent deal to acquire tours
and activities platform Tiqets, which was announced in early December.
While the deal has not yet been completed, Gorin said tours
and activities can help drive personalization as well as extra value for
travelers. She added that a company such as Tiqets brings activities expertise
to Expedia and could help it “accelerate parts of our business that are already
growing.”
She also spoke about the value of brand in an AI world, potential
geographical expansion for the B2B division and the latest developments at VRBO.
See below for the full interview with Mitra Sorrells, SVP of content for Phocuswright.
PhocusWire Executive Interview: Expedia Group