LAS VEGAS -- AI was top of mind among attendees and presenters at Expedia Group's annual partner conference, Explore, held here in May.
And as CEO Ariane Gorin said from the stage, "It's everywhere. And yes, at times, it feels like the only thing anyone is talking about. But that's for good reason."
Expedia Group (No. 2 on Travel Weekly's Power List) has been using various forms of AI for years. It has applications in its fraud prevention and impacts the sort order of search results, among other uses. During Explore, Expedia launched Romie, an AI-powered travel assistant that employs the buzzy generative AI.
But how does Expedia stack up to its competition, especially Booking Holdings (No. 1 on the Power List), when it comes to the use of AI?
"It does appear that Expedia is in a strong position relative to their OTA competitors," said Michael Coletta, Phocuswright's senior manager of research and innovation. Compared with Booking.com and other Western OTAs, he added, Expedia has been "pushing harder on generative AI" though that argument is "not necessarily" the case in comparison to some Asian companies like Trip.com.
Robert Cole, Phocuswright's senior research analyst focused on lodging and leisure travel, said that while it's hard to say which company is ahead of the other in terms of AI use overall, he and Coletta said that Expedia has a leg up thanks to its recent work moving all brands onto a single technology platform.
"I think Expedia has an advantage because they've integrated all of their hotel systems and everything like that," Cole said.
That integration will pay off on the AI front, he added, because it provides Expedia with a large, centralized amount of data that the AI can use and train upon.
Shiyi Pickrell, senior vice president of data and AI at Expedia Group, credits Expedia leadership with recognizing that unifying technology would present more opportunities to move quickly with AI.
Having a single technology platform, she said, has afforded Expedia more agility with AI development.
"I would say the culture is there," Pickrell said. "So, we've got the perfect recipe: good technology, the platform is ready and we have an appetite for it."
In addition to consumer-facing and internal applications for AI, Expedia has made AI-powered tools available to industry partners.
Scout, for instance, is a machine learning system that shares recommendations for hotels based on how travelers interact with a property and what similar properties in the marketplace are doing, said Hari Nair, senior vice president of hotel market partnerships.
"Scout takes all of this into account, but puts forward things to you in a manner that is very contextual and simple," Nair said. "Because we don't expect anybody, including myself, to be an AI expert. So that's how we [apply AI], and we do the same thing with the travelers, as well."
During Explore, Expedia was bullish on its new personal assistant-meets-travel agent, Romie. The assistant can listen in on SMS chats, offer recommendations and itineraries and move the results into Expedia's shopping experience.
Romie is currently only available via EG Labs, Expedia's digital testing ground for new technology, and analysts were cautious in their opinions on the product.
Coletta said while Romie's ability to participate in group-planning sessions via text is largely viewed as smart, the execution of its abilities remain to be seen.
"We'll have to see how it resonates with consumers and whether it moves the needle," he said.
Cole said AI generally is lacking when it comes to detailed traveler preferences; human travel advisors still tend to shine in comparison.
Despite Romie's billing as a travel agent/personal assistant, though, Expedia isn't shying away from human travel advisors. In the last several years, the company has been investing in the channel via its Travel Agent Affiliate Program.
"I think there will always be people who are going to want to shop in the offline world," Gorin said.