What happens when the CEO of one of the world’s largest travel companies spends her weekends experimenting with ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity?

You get a front-row view into how Expedia Group is thinking about the next era of travel.

In this episode, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin sits down with Mitra Sorrells, SVP of content at Phocuswright/PhocusWire, to unpack how a long-standing test-and-learn mindset is shaping the company’s AI strategy and accelerating decision-making across the business.

Gorin calls AI Expedia Group’s “third chapter”, following the internet and mobile. And she’s clear: this is not theoretical. It’s happening fast and it’s already changing how travelers search, discover and book.

You’ll hear:

• Why experimentation is now a leadership muscle, not a side project

• How Expedia is thinking about visibility in AI platforms as search evolves

• What “agentic AI” could unlock for the traveler experience

• How the Google Universal Commerce Protocol fits into Expedia’s future plans

• Why tours and activities matter more than ever, and what Tiqets brings to the table

• The role of brand in an AI-driven world, plus updates on B2B growth and Vrbo

This conversation goes beyond buzzwords and product launches. It’s a candid look at how a global travel platform prepares for rapid change while staying focused on what actually improves the traveler experience.

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The definition of luxury travel fluctuates across demographics, and how technology plays into that is also changing with evolving needs and tools like artificial intelligence (AI).

“Luxury audiences ... they vary greatly depending on level of maturity of that wealth, where they're hailing from across the planet, whether or not they're a solo traveler or traveling in a group, [if they are] multi-generational and where they sit in the luxury ladder,” Kristie Goshow, chief commercial officer at Loews Hotels & Co, said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference.

Luxury travelers are often looking for technology to remove friction on their trips, Goshow said. Hospitality providers are expected to improve experience, and tech has to enable that.

Phocuswright’s 2025 U.S. Consumer Travel Report found that “indulgent explorers,” defined by their per-person, per-day leisure travel spend, excluding airfare, are more tech savvy. The study revealed 78% seek out and enjoy being an early adopter of new technology, compared with 38% of the general population.

Skylark CEO Mike Greene agreed. While definitions can vary, for Greene, luxury hinges on dynamic personalization.

“It's about being proactive, having service be super proactive about—and attentive to—what people need before they even know what they need,” Greene said. “And technology can play a huge role in that.”

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Travel startup funding remained tough throughout 2025, with Phocuswright data signaling the year would likely fall below $5 billion after a modest recovery to $5.8 billion in 2024. A few headline rounds stood out, including Perk’s $200 million Series E, Klook’s $100 million and later raises from companies like Ramp, Airalo and Peek, but big checks were otherwise scarce and investors consistently urged founders to extend runway and manage cash as if the next round might not arrive.

In this interview with Linda Fox in the PhocusWire Studio, investors Roopak Pati of Oppenheimer and Betsy Mulé of F-Prime Capital unpack what the funding slowdown means for travel startups and why they still see reasons for optimism. They discuss how AI is accelerating efficiency and adoption across the industry, while also complicating the path for some B2C travel companies as AI platforms increasingly showcase travel booking use cases.

The conversation also explores what’s next, from renewed IPO momentum to the likelihood of stronger M&A activity in 2026. Along the way, Pati and Mulé share what they’re watching, including tech-forward players in corporate travel, and why investors are placing more, smaller bets as winning business models become harder to predict.

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Co-founded by CEO John Lyotier and chairman of the board Chris Jensen in 2013, Vancouver-based TravelAI now operates more than 475 consumer-facing brands.

The company generated over $268 million in gross booking value in 2024, and the CEO expects that figure to be be closer to $500 million in 2025.

TravelAI is actively pursuing its goal of creating the “web of one,” working towards improved personalization in travel.

In a recent interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference, co-founder and CEO John Lyotier discussed the company’s progress and his thoughts on next steps.

“The web of one goes back to the whole concept of can you create a web experience where you have a personalization layer that is only delivering one website to one person. So, this is your website, your experience,” he said.

“The next evolution of that is more or less the ‘web of none,’ where the same information and same data and same content you would create to put in a website is available across any medium.”

To achieve this, Lyotier said another layer—a shared vector protocol—is necessary.

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During its its third quarter earnings call in early November, Airbnb shared some early results of its experiences and services launches.

At the time, the company said almost half of those booked were not related to an accommodation booking. Meanwhile, 10% of those who booked a service—think massages and private chefs—were totally new to the platform. 

Airbnb is “super encouraged” by those results, chief business officer Dave Stephenson said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference 2025.

They not only reveal demand for the new business lines but also that the platform can be seen for more than just short-term rentals, he said. 

The company's recent marketing initiatives have also been aligned with the launches and communicating the message that users can get more than just an Airbnb rental from the platform.

“It’s not just about the home. It’s really about the trip. It’s about all the experiences that you can have in the community that that you're traveling to. We want these authentic experiences, these authentic stays to get to a sense of the place. So that's where you're seeing our advertising kind of expanding the definition of what it means to be in an Airbnb,” Stephenson said.

He went on to discuss how the company rebuilt its technology stack to enable the sale of services and experiences and allow for the onboarding of different service providers with their own requirements.

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Connecting the dots of the traveler journey is priority in the ground transportation sector, but tangible examples of connected trip in action are still somewhat “rare.”

Travelers can book a full trip in Sweden, including a train, taxi and a bus, which is working well, but there aren’t many models beyond that, according to SilverRail chief commercial officer Cameron Jones.

During an interview in the PhocusWire studio, Jones said the connected journey is still evolving, as is customer buying behavior.

“There’s this view that a customer might want to book everything in one transaction and one journey and planning experience, but I'm not sure that's the case,” he said.

When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), tech is already helping with aggregating content and pricing, and the next phase will include purchasing.

“It just makes things simple, and I know, for us, that’s all we ever want is to try and make that purchasing experience simple,” said Nicole Kerr, CEO of Mozio.

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The “connected trip” has become a bit of a tired buzzword, but the ability to bundle different trip elements is not less coveted in the travel space.

During an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference last month, Manuel Hilty, CEO and co-founder of Nezasa, and Andrew Boch, CEO of Mobi.AI, discussed the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain.

While some think of the connected trip as being “top-down,” Boch highlighted Mobi.AI’s context-aware approach to artificial intelligence (AI).

“We think that, when you’re changing your flight, that should be aware of what your hotel plans were, and it should be aware of what the purpose of your trip was. Like when you’re staying at a hotel, the hotel should know why you’re there,” Boch said.

“That sort of context should be preserved throughout the travel experience, and fundamentally, all the downstream suppliers need some method of both understanding that context, ingesting that context and then, hopefully, acting on that context.”

The pair also commented on generational differences in data sharing, AI’s impact, agentic opportunity and more.

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While artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting travel marketing, the best use cases are still being determined.

AI-supported digital travel marketing can work—as long as it still has a human touch, according to Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships for Expedia Group.

In October, Expedia Group released research that examined what content is driving traveler choice. The company showed participants a mix of non-AI-enhanced, AI-enhanced and fully AI content.

“A good percentage of the travelers really didn't mind, and actually, I don't want to say they preferred [it], but they did not mind the AI-enhanced content as long as it did have some human touch in it as well,” Torres said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference.

As responses were positive, Expedia Group determined that content creation could benefit from some level of AI implementation.

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After 26 years with the company and 10 as CEO, Priceline recently announced that Brett Keller would hand over the reins to Brigit Zimmerman in January.

In an interview in the PhocusWire studio, Keller reflected on his time at the OTA, where he has held several roles including CMO and COO.

His best advice for his successor was to surround herself with the best possible team and be sure to retain them, pointing to the longevity of Booking Holdings leadership team.

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At The Phocuswright Conference 2025, BoomPop co-founder and CEO Healey Cypher presented the startup as a solution for corporate group travel and event planning. The platform was named Travel Innovator of the Year as part of Phocuswright's Launch: Innovation program.

"For whatever reason, this is the last corner of travel that really hasn't been digitized," Healey said. "It's a lot of Google searching, spreadsheets ... it's incredibly manual."

Powered by AI, BoomPop allows employees to type in what they need for an event, with the software then analyzing data and providing suggestions. Once plans are set, BoomPop handles booking, reviews contracts and manages RSVPs, among other tasks.

"We are a CFO's best friend. You don't usually hear that from a travel company, and it means you have user management, approval flows—you even get insights from reporting into what's trending across the company," Cypher said.

Earlier this month, the startup raised $25 million in funding to accelerate expansion. The round was led by Wing Venture Capital and included an additional $16 million of debt and credit via Silicon Valley Bank.

All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocus

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