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.

After 26 years with the company and 10 as CEO, Priceline recently announced that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/priceline-ceo-brett-keller-retire" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Brett Keller would hand over the reins to Brigit Zimmerman</a>&nbsp;in January.
In an interview in the PhocusWire studio<a href="https://phocuswright.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147"></a>, 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.

A regular dissection of the news, issues and trends in travel and technology, featuring interviews with industry executives and entrepreneurs and hosted by PhocusWire editors.

A regular dissection of the news, issues and trends in travel and technology, featuring interviews with industry executives and entrepreneurs and hosted by PhocusWire editors.

In Phocus is a regular dissection of the news, issues and trends in travel and technology, featuring interviews with industry executives and entrepreneurs and hosted by PhocusWire editors.

In Phocus

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.

Priceline CEO Brett Keller reflects on 26 years at the OTA and industry evolution

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.

The&nbsp;&ldquo;connected trip&rdquo;&nbsp;has become a bit of a&nbsp;tired&nbsp;buzzword, but the ability to bundle different trip elements is not less coveted in the travel space.
During an&nbsp;interview&nbsp;in&nbsp;the PhocusWire studio&nbsp;at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswrightconference.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">The&nbsp;Phocuswright&nbsp;Conference</a>&nbsp;last month,&nbsp;Manuel Hilty, CEO and co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://nezasa.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Nezasa</a>, and Andrew Boch, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://mobi.ai/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Mobi.AI</a>, discussed the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain.
While some think of the connected trip as being &ldquo;top-down,&rdquo;&nbsp;Boch&nbsp;highlighted&nbsp;Mobi.AI&rsquo;s&nbsp;context-aware approach to artificial intelligence (AI).
&ldquo;We think that, when&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;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&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;staying at a hotel, the hotel should know why&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;there,&rdquo;&nbsp;Boch&nbsp;said.
&ldquo;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.&rdquo;
The pair also commented on generational&nbsp;differences&nbsp;in data sharing,&nbsp;AI&rsquo;s impact, agentic&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;and more.

The CEOs of Nezasa and Mobi.ai discuss the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain.

Evolution in trip planning and personalization with Nezasa and Mobi.ai

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.

While artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/phocuswright-new-agents-trend-series-travel-marketing-ai-search">travel marketing</a>, the best use cases are still being determined.
AI-supported digital travel marketing can work&mdash;as long as it still has a human touch, according to Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships for&nbsp;<a href="https://expediagroup.com/">Expedia Group</a>.
In October, Expedia Group&nbsp;<a href="https://partner.expediagroup.com/en-us/resources/blog/crack-code-on-travel-content-science-of-wanderlust">released research</a>&nbsp;that examined what content is driving traveler choice. The company showed participants a mix of non-AI-enhanced, AI-enhanced and fully AI content.
&ldquo;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,&rdquo; Torres said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswrightconference.com/">The Phocuswright Conference</a>.
As responses were positive, Expedia Group determined that content creation could benefit from some level of AI implementation.

Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships at Expedia Group, discusses AI, social-led travel discovery and more in an interview with PhocusWire executive editor Linda Fox.

How Expedia Group believes AI can improve digital travel marketing

Within the vacation rental industry, opportunity abounds as operators lean into consolidation and professionalization.

During an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference last week, Sharad Sunderesan, founder and CEO of Homescreen, and Eric Goldreyer, CEO of Savvy, shared their thoughts on these trends.

“You’ll see consolidation bring about that degree of consistency across the board, which helps with dealing with those increased guest expectations,” Sundaresan said.

According to Goldreyer, short-term rental (STR) guests also want standardization, but, more importantly, they want to forego travel anxiety and have a reliable point of contact if something goes wrong.

“They want a professional. They want someone that they can call,” he said. “If you’re in a vacation rental, you’re taking a group, and there’s higher pain points. You want to make sure that you can minimize those to the best of your ability.”

Conversation shifted to artificial intelligence and how it may address significant challenges such as persistent manual processes and fragmentation.

Within the vacation rental industry, opportunity abounds as operators lean into consolidation and professionalization.
During an interview&nbsp;in&nbsp;the PhocusWire studio at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswrightconference.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">The Phocuswright Conference</a>&nbsp;last week, Sharad Sunderesan,&nbsp;founder and CEO&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://homescreen-ai.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Homescreen</a>, and Eric&nbsp;Goldreyer,&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.savvy.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Savvy</a>, shared their thoughts on these trends.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll see&nbsp;consolidation&nbsp;bring about that degree of consistency across the board, which helps with&nbsp;dealing with&nbsp;those increased guest expectations,&rdquo;&nbsp;Sundaresan said.
According to&nbsp;Goldreyer,&nbsp;short-term rental (STR)&nbsp;guests also want standardization, but, more importantly, they want to forego travel anxiety and&nbsp;have a reliable point of contact if something goes wrong.
&ldquo;They want a professional. They want someone that they can call,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;in a vacation rental,&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;taking a group, and there&rsquo;s higher pain points. You want to make sure that you can&nbsp;minimize&nbsp;those to the best of your ability.&rdquo;
Conversation shifted to artificial intelligence and how it may address significant challenges such as persistent manual processes and&nbsp;fragmentation.

Within the vacation rental industry, opportunity abounds as operators lean into consolidation and professionalization.

Priceline CEO Brett Keller reflects on 26 years at the OTA and industry evolution

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