When Ariane Gorin takes over as CEO of Expedia Group (No. 2 on Travel Weekly's Power List) on May 13, her first priorities will be accelerating growth and sharpening the company's long-term strategy for its consumer-facing business.
Speaking during the company's Q1 earnings call Thursday, CEO Peter Kern's last in that role, Gorin said Expedia's consumer-facing business has seen "a lot of turbulence" in recent years. Expedia Group created a single loyalty program for all brands, One Key, and migrating all brands to a single technology platform.
"While we built new capabilities like our common front end, we had less development capacity to build new features, and this in turn impacted the competitiveness of some of our brands and products," Gorin said.
Expedia was the least disrupted brand, she said.
However, Hotels.com and Vrbo were most impacted by migrating platforms and haven't recovered to the extent the company would like.
"To get the acceleration we want from our consumer business, we need to focus on the basics: driving traffic, increasing conversion and expanding our margins through higher attach, take rates and more efficient marketing," Gorin said. "Ultimately, this is going to come down to having great products and great brand proposition."
Operating a single platform has brought benefits, Gorin said. It's easier to "innovate at scale," and the company has been performing a number of tests and benefitting from the use of AI across all brands.
However, she said, those benefits come with some downsides: Expedia Group is still learning how to be as efficient as possible.
As an example, she said a recommendation algorithm has to be adjusted to know the difference between shoppers on Vrbo and shoppers on Expedia.
"While we still have some work to fully complete our tech platform, moving forward we'll dedicate more of our development capacity to build great traveler experiences," Gorin said.
Investments in improving Expedia's consumer-facing business will pay off over time, she said.
The company's B2B business continues to perform well, with plenty of opportunities in the future, she said.
Asked what she is most excited about, Gorin pointed to AI and its ability to personalize experiences for travelers.
A Q1 net loss for Expedia Group
In the first quarter, Expedia Group's revenue was up 8%, to $2.9 billion. B2B revenue increased 25%, to $833 million.
Expedia operated at a loss of $110 million, compared to an operating loss of $121 million in the same period last year. The company posted a net loss of $136 million.
Gross bookings totaled $30.2 billion, up 3%. Kern said Vrbo's recovery from its re-platforming has been slower than anticipated, impacting gross bookings.