This sponsored content material was created in collaboration with a Skift associate.
The journey {industry} is present process a speedy digital transformation, with companies dealing with rising challenges in expertise adoption, scalability, and integration. Many {industry} gamers wrestle to maintain tempo with innovation, missing the assets, experience, or strategic expertise companions wanted to remain aggressive.
That is the place Expedia Group’s B2B technology solutions come into play — serving to companies navigate these challenges by offering cutting-edge AI instruments, seamless integrations, and scalable infrastructure tailor-made to the distinctive wants of its companions.
SkiftX spoke with Karen Bolda, chief product and expertise officer, B2B, at Expedia Group, to discover how the corporate is supporting its companions, powering the {industry}, and making ready for its subsequent wave of innovation.
Expertise Officer, B2B, Expedia Group
SkiftX: What main challenges do your companions face, and the way does Expedia Group’s B2B expertise assist them overcome these obstacles?
Karen Bolda: Journey expertise is advancing at a speedy tempo, particularly with AI. This presents extraordinary alternatives and actual challenges for our companions. Companies should rapidly undertake new expertise whereas persevering with to exceed traveler expectations. That’s why in Non-public Label Options, our B2B enterprise, we deal with offering the instruments our companions have to sustain with this shifting panorama.
Our B2B expertise powers over 70,000 companies and 160,000 journey advisors worldwide. What’s thrilling is that we’re leveraging one of many {industry}’s largest journey datasets and cutting-edge AI capabilities all through our B2B tech so our companions keep aggressive as expertise adjustments to drive associate success.
Are you able to give us a breakdown of the precise instruments and providers Non-public Label Options supplies?
Our strategy is deeply consultative — we don’t simply supply merchandise, we offer options tailor-made to enterprise wants.
We provide enterprise-scale options, together with our Rapid API, which supplies immediate entry to greater than 750,000 properties globally. We guarantee our companions can deal with delivering distinctive traveler experiences reasonably than coping with technical complexities.
Our White Label Template permits companies to combine an end-to-end journey reserving expertise into their very own branded environments, making it simpler for loyalty packages, monetary establishments, airways, and retailers to supply journey rewards throughout flights, lodges, automobiles, actions, packages, and several other ancillary providers.
For journey advisors, Expedia’s Journey Agent Affiliate Program (Expedia TAAP) is an important journey agent platform, providing a complete reserving engine with unique charges on over 3 million lodging, 500 airways, and 220,000 actions. Advisors utilizing Expedia TAAP acquire entry to AI-driven options like Itinerary Builder, which reduces planning time to mere seconds, and Digital Agent help, which resolves reserving points sooner than conventional customer support fashions.
Past these merchandise, we’re deeply dedicated to our companions’ success. Now we have a number of partner-focused groups together with integration consultants, person expertise designers, and answer architects working immediately with companions to make sure a clean course of, ongoing monitoring, and steady enhancements. We’re all the time evaluating and increasing our choices based mostly on what our companions and their vacationers want.
How are you utilizing AI for stock administration and matching vacationers with merchandise?
Expedia Group has been on the forefront of AI-driven journey options. Our machine-learning fashions analyze huge quantities of knowledge to refine traveler suggestions, floor aggressive charges, and optimize stock distribution.
For instance, our generative AI capabilities assist journey suppliers curate customized gives for vacationers, decreasing guide work and guaranteeing that probably the most related journey choices are offered in actual time.
How are you differentiating Expedia Group from opponents?
We strategy expertise growth from our companions’ perspective, asking, “How will this assist our companions delight their vacationers?” Our in depth journey expertise experience, huge journey dataset, and powerful AI and ML capabilities are key differentiators. We work with our companions to co-innovate so we transfer sooner and extra successfully, whereas delivering smarter and extra tailor-made options. Our B2B enterprise was just lately acknowledged on the 2024 Inc. Power Partner record for the options we construct to assist companions develop.
Past expertise, our provide depth and breadth give companions entry to aggressive charges and complete journey choices. Now we have lengthy standing strategic relationships with world suppliers and supply industry-leading customer support. Our multilingual contact facilities and AI-driven digital brokers deal with thousands and thousands of traveler interactions yearly, guaranteeing companions can ship world-class service with out growing operational prices.
Is scaling innovation a problem? You could have companions everywhere in the world with completely different enterprise wants, laws, and regional necessities. How do you sort out that whereas sustaining a constant degree of help?
Scaling innovation can positively be a problem. We’re trusted by a number of the world’s largest and most beloved companies — world airways, main monetary establishments, and company journey firms — companies like SoFi, Walmart, Finnair, Wheel the World, and Quill. Every of those companies depends on our expertise to ship distinctive but differentiated experiences for his or her clients.
When scaling, we lean in to grasp our companions’ distinctive wants. Regional nuances matter, so we design and construct for scale whereas guaranteeing options stay versatile. Our years of journey expertise, petabytes of knowledge, and numerous tech options enable us to fulfill companions at a world scale with tailor-made options.
Getting access to huge datasets is a game-changer, particularly in relation to AI. It permits hyper-personalization and extra correct development predictions, guaranteeing vacationers obtain probably the most related gives. Our knowledge permits us to refine algorithms, anticipate market shifts, and supply insights that assist companions make higher enterprise selections.
Are there any huge traits in B2B journey tech that you just’re watching intently?
AI developments are transferring from concept into observe, and we’re simply starting to unlock its full potential. AI is driving personalization at scale, streamlining journey operations, detecting journey fraud, and even permitting vacationers to plan journeys based mostly on images they take.
Our B2B Innovation Heart is devoted to experimenting with rising applied sciences, guaranteeing our companions keep aggressive as AI continues to evolve. It’s an area the place we experiment, iterate, and refine improvements earlier than they scale. We’re intentional about how we innovate with new merchandise and construct future AI tech.
As younger travelers shift towards credit card travel portals and direct reserving channels, how does Expedia Group see this development — extra as a aggressive risk, or as a possibility to combine deeper with monetary establishments and loyalty ecosystems?
This is a chance and thrilling {industry} development to fulfill vacationers the place they’re. We presently serve varied loyalty packages as a result of we all know journey is without doubt one of the most vital drivers and sought-after advantages. By partnering intently with monetary establishments which have credit score card-based loyalty packages, we are able to higher serve vacationers who’ve preferences for these packages. Journey portals present a handy approach for vacationers to entry monetary providers and unique cardholder perks, making journey extra rewarding and pleasurable. By powering these journey and loyalty packages, we are able to deal with delivering distinctive merchandise, expertise, and repair for journey, whereas monetary establishments keep targeting their strengths.
You’re in a male-dominated area. What has your expertise been like as a lady in tech, and the way has it influenced your management model?
My background is in software program engineering, and early on, I noticed that innovation thrives the place there’s possession, technical experience, and a deep deal with buyer wants.
After I was in college, I used to be usually the one lady in my tech courses. I constructed credibility by way of competence in my work and supply of outcomes, and I’ve utilized that very same mindset all through my profession. Whereas I’ve encountered challenges, I’ve additionally had large help from colleagues, leaders, and mates who pushed me ahead. Now, I see it as my accountability to help others and make sure the {industry} continues evolving.
For me, a robust sense of possession drives me to see my companions’ challenges as my very own, which naturally pushes me to develop revolutionary options. Understanding the intersection of what expertise makes potential and what issues to our B2B companions permits me to create impactful methods. I’ve additionally been lucky to work with wonderful leaders at Expedia Group, together with our CEO, Ariane Gorin, which has formed my expertise.
Any recommendation for folks getting into the {industry}, particularly in relation to navigating AI?
Keep adaptable and embrace steady studying. The way forward for expertise is consistently being rewritten, and we see this particularly with AI. AI is advancing at a speedy tempo, and probably the most profitable companies will likely be these that may pivot and combine new capabilities rapidly, driving true traveler and enterprise impression.At Expedia Group, we construct expertise with flexibility at its core, enabling our companions to seamlessly undertake developments with out disruption. By embracing adaptability and alter, each companies and people can stay aggressive and thrive in an AI-driven future.
To proceed exploring Non-public Label Options’ B2B tech choices, download the e-book.
This content material was created collaboratively by Expedia Group and Skift’s branded content material studio, SkiftX.
