business Essential news, comment and analysis Mark Okerstrom: ‘We are
at the very early stages of digital innovation in travel and are better when we innovate together [with industry partners]’
Expedia trials packaging tool to highlight savings
Expedia extolled the virtues of packages at its annual Partner Conference last week. Lee Hayhurst reports from Las Vegas
Expedia has started trials in the US of a new dynamic packaging service on its website that will show customers the savings they make as they bundle products together.
To give package customers peace of mind, Expedia will give users an option to waive some of their savings in exchange for more-flexible cancellation and alteration terms. New president and chief executive
Mark Okerstrom said the OTA intends to capitalise on its position as a full-service travel agent.
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travelweekly.co.uk 14 December 2017 “We are the only truly global
platform that can take any person from anywhere to any place they want by any means, and when they’re there, offer an amazing set of activities, and if there are problems, we can solve them,” he said. Okerstrom added the “fundamental advantage” of being an OTA with 600 million unique visitors a month is “you go to one place, search for everything, buy it and get it cheaper because you are buying [everything you want] together”. The new package shopping path
is known internally as shopping cart. Tests on car hire started on Expedia’s US brands last week, ahead of a wider rollout. The service prompts users who
have chosen a single item, such as a flight, to add related products, such as car hire, a hotel stay or a tour or activity, and calculates the savings as products are bundled together. As well as giving packaging functionality greater prominence on its sites, Expedia is offering a white-label dynamic packaging service to partner hotels. Expedia announced the MGM
Grand Las Vegas, where its annual partner conference was held last week, as the latest hotel partner
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PICTURES: ADAM SHANE
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