Expedia's Kern on changing perceptions of its role in travel

A swathe of announcements and launches has come from Expedia Group in recent months related to its technology, its loyalty program, startups and sustainability.

Arguably the most significant are the company's Open World technology platform and enabling microservices for anyone who wants to sell travel, its system for rewarding hoteliers for meeting customer needs and the One Key loyalty scheme .

The Expedia Executive Interview: A Giant Refresh at The Phocuswright Conference gave group vice chairman and CEO Peter Kern the opportunity to provide a little more detail on the strategy.

The B2B side of the group is on an “excellent growth trajectory” according to Kern, and he also continues to see a lot of growth for the B2C side, especially with all the latest initiatives that he says will create differentiation and drive value.

Kern also comments on potential push back on One Key from large hotel chains, which are driving guests to their own loyalty programs, revealing that more than 80% of travelers never get a reward because they don’t travel enough.

The post-pandemic return to huge direct marketing investment and the dependency on Google is discussed alongside whether Expedia’s investments in direct booking and loyalty and mobile apps can help curb that reliance.

Finally, Kern touches on the group’s recent announcement around sustainability, Expedia’s role and whether there is pressure to do more.

Watch the full session with PhocusWire senior reporter Linda Fox.