The article introduces Ariane Gorin, the new CEO of Expedia Group, and her presentation at the 2024 Deutsche Bank Technology Conference. She has held multiple executive roles at Expedia and will be discussing the company's B2B business, which powers partners and has a large media and advertising segment. The company has undergone a replatforming and is powered by an AI and machine learning platform.

The company has great AI and machine learning capabilities, cross-shopping and fintech capabilities, and a strong travel supply. Their B2B business has consistently grown over the years, with $25 billion in bookings, 60,000 partners, and strong growth in gross bookings, revenue, and adjusted EBITDA. The B2B bookings often come from different use cases than the consumer business, such as loyalty programs and international markets.

The company has a large presence in North America, but also has a significant portion of its B2B business coming from outside the U.S. through partnerships with travel management companies. The target addressable market for the company is over $3 trillion, and they currently only hold 3% of that market. The company's confidence in their business comes from four main factors: strong hotel supply, great distribution products and technology, a diverse partner base, and a dedicated and skilled team.

The company has a stand-alone team focused on B2B business, which helps to attract more supply partners. This, in turn, leads to better quality supply for both the consumer and B2B business. The company offers three main products in their B2B business: Rapid hotel API for partners to use for hotel content, a white label template for airlines to sell hotels, and a travel agent affiliate program. These products have helped the company grow and diversify their partner base.

The speaker discusses the partners the company works with, including financial institutions, online and offline travel agencies, corporate travel management companies, airlines, and retailers. They believe that their B2B business is a leader and has grown rapidly in recent years, with incremental and synergistic benefits to their B2C business. The business is diversified and differentiated across geographies and partner types. The speaker mentions that they expect the growth to decelerate slightly due to normalization of global travel demand, but they will continue to invest in supply, technology, and their team. The interviewer asks about the drivers of the double-digit growth, and the speaker mentions new customer acquisition, volume through partner portals, and ARPU as important factors.

The company has a target for new business each year, but most of their growth comes from existing partners and deals signed in the previous year. The B2B segment is performing well and competitors may want to move into it. The company's success in this area is a combination of factors including good supply, technology, and tools for partners to use.

The company's B2B commercials are focused on providing value to their partners, and they have a strong feedback loop to understand their partners' needs and preferences. The partners are looking for a reliable and invested partner, and their requests vary depending on their segment. On the B2C side, the company is looking to expand more internationally, and they have to balance this with their B2B business.

Ariane Gorin discusses how Expedia determines whether to focus on B2C or B2B growth in international markets. She shares a success story about partnering with Traveloka in Indonesia and mentions the potential for growth in the B2C business internationally. However, the B2C business has been flat to down since 2018 due to various changes at Expedia.

The speaker explains that the company has gone through a lot of replatforming activities and has given up some room nights as a result. They also invested less internationally and migrated the Hotels.com brand to a new platform. The speaker mentions that the big 3 B2C brands, Expedia, Vrbo, and Hotels.com, have seen bookings growth, with Expedia being the least disrupted brand and benefiting from new innovations.

The speaker discusses the benefits of having a loyalty program and a unified brand identity for Expedia. They also mention the potential for cross-selling and the use of trip board for trip planning. The speaker then addresses the relationship between Expedia and Hotels.com, stating that they complement each other in markets where all of the brands are present. The launch of One Key allows for a common currency across all brands, providing benefits for loyal customers.

The speaker discusses the potential for cross-selling between Expedia and Hotels.com, as well as the importance of having a strong value proposition for each brand. They also mention the success of Brand Expedia and how they plan to replicate it for Vrbo through innovation, testing, and optimizing. The strength of Vrbo's supply is also highlighted as a factor contributing to their growth.

The speaker discusses the company's efforts to improve their host programs and provide a better experience for travelers. They also mention their success in the U.S. hotel business and their plans to reinvigorate share gains internationally. They highlight the importance of focus and utilizing their B2B and B2C businesses to complement each other in order to grow and take share in the market.

The speaker discusses the complementary relationship between the B2C and B2B sides of their business, highlighting the benefits for supply partners and the importance of technology and content for B2B partners. They also mention the success of their B2B team and the importance of identifying market opportunities for both B2C and B2B growth.

In paragraph 14, the speaker discusses the importance of understanding the brand value proposition for their 3 brands: Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. They also mention leveraging technology investments and effective marketing to communicate this value proposition to customers. The speaker then addresses a slowdown in demand in July, but expresses confidence in the overall health of the travel industry and the strong desire for people to travel.

The speaker talks about focusing on execution opportunities and controlling what is within their power. They also mention being surprised by how little some investors understand the B2B business and how technology investments have helped them move faster. The speaker also discusses the pause in the One Key global rollout and the reasoning behind it.

The speaker discusses the success of their loyalty program, One Key, which allows customers to earn and redeem rewards across all of their brands. They also mention the need to tailor the program to each country and the importance of constantly reassessing and adapting strategies for growth. The interviewer asks what is most misunderstood in the company's current position.

Ariane Gorin believes that investors may have misunderstood their B2B business, but they have covered it in their discussions. She also mentions that they have disclosed more information, such as B2C and B2B gross bookings, in the past quarter. She wants investors to know that their brands are loved by travelers and that they feel a sense of responsibility to protect them. She thanks the interviewer and attendees for their time at the conference.

This summary was generated with AI and may contain some inaccuracies.