CEO Spotlight - Peter Kern of Expedia Group

In April Peter Kern will mark four years in the role of CEO of Expedia Group, although his involvement as a board member dates back to 2005.

Kern took over the leadership role at a time when the entire world was paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and when the company had to focus on damage control. But from day one he also began talking about efforts to simplify the company and reorganize its technology.

In the last year some of those efforts have come to bear – the completion of Expedia Group’s tech migration to a single platform and the launch of its One Key integrated loyalty program. The company also jumped in early on generative artificial intelligence and has expanded its B2B efforts with partnerships with Mastercard, Walmart and more.

Last week in Los Angeles, PhocusWire caught up with Kern at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) produced by the BHN Group - another brand of Northstar Travel Group. Kern was at the event as a panelist in a session on “The State of the Travel Industry” – the first CEO of an online travel agency to be invited to participate at the event in its 21-year history.

In a one-on-one interview after the session, Kern shared his thoughts on a variety of topics, including next steps for the One Key program, how the company is evolving its generative AI strategy and the potential – and limitations – of AI agents and the company’s B2B strategy, which in 2023 included cutting ties with Hopper.

“We are trying to have the cleanest, best marketplace that exists in travel,” Kern said.

“We made some judgments about the way Hopper was doing business, about the way they sold things to consumers. We felt like it didn’t represent our supply the way our suppliers would want it represented or be complicit in that whole experience, so we decided to make a change.”

Kern also discussed how Expedia Group is working to attract younger generations of travelers and plans to go “back on offense” for global growth. The discussion wraps up with some self-reflection by Kern on his views on working in travel and why he is “not a believer in the conventional idea of work-life balance.” 

Watch the full discussion below or listen to the audio here: