Brett Keller, CEO of Priceline, has been with the company for 25 years.
He reviewed his tenure at The Phocuswright Conference in November with Lorraine Sileo, founder and senior analyst of Phocuswright Research.
They discussed Priceline’s evolution over the decades, including the success of the William Shatner Negotiator campaign and the company’s introduction of the first travel iPhone app. Over time, Priceline experimented with a broad product range and focused on travel post-9/11, transforming from an air-centric business to a diversified travel platform.
The “name your own price” product, which only penetrated 10% of the market and appealed mainly to risk-taking men aged 35-55 according to Keller, was an opportunity to reconsider the company’s strategy to broaden the appeal to more risk-sensitive travelers.
“The majority of what we sell today is fully disclosed pricing, but opaque plays a very important role for all of our partners, both airlines, rental car companies and hoteliers, to move inventory without disclosing their price,” Keller said.
Priceline’s packaging services have grown, particularly in flight and car packages. “A lot of people don’t even add the hotel to their packaging. They just want to get a flight, and they realize, well, I need a car, and so bundling that car with it delivers a lower price and gives them great value,” Keller said.
Now, the Booking Holdings-owned Priceline brand emphasizes innovation, for example, by introducing the AI travel assistant Penny, which uses OpenAI’s real time voice technology to respond to customer queries naturally.
“Consumers are already engaging with her and conducting hotel searches,” he said. For now, Penny answers questions and recalls customer preferences to make recommendations during the travel search phase. She then sends customers to the Priceline checkout page. “Shortly, you’ll be able to do the full transaction directly, speaking to her,” Keller said.
Keller also discussed the importance of reaching younger travelers by applying generative AI to find destinations similar to those they already know and love.
Watch the full discuss below.
Executive Interview: Keeping (some of) the Guesswork in Travel