Latest news with #JochenKoedijk
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I'm Expedia's marketing chief. Here's how we're preparing for a future when people use AI to plan their vacations.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jochen Koedijk, Expedia Group's chief marketing officer. It's been edited for length and clarity. The way consumers are using the internet to make their decisions is fundamentally changing. I have two kids, 10 and seven years old, and I think it's very unlikely they will ever put a query into a search box, as I've grown up doing. The way people are using voice and having real conversations is going to be a long-term change in how people are using the internet. What we're seeing today is that a lot of the inspirational travel searches are evolving rapidly with things like Copilot, ChatGPT, and even Instagram Reels. There are a lot of moments where my wife sends me Reels, and she's like, "Where is this?" And I have no idea. So then, we were like, what if we can develop something where you send those Reels to Expedia, and then we will tell you: "It's this destination, or this hotel. Here are a couple of things to do. The best time to visit is between May and July, and here are a couple of booking options so you can get started." Right now, it's still early access, which means it's only with Reels, but we're looking at other forms of content as well. It's a very different journey versus going to and typing in "best hotels in Miami with pool, minus spa." We're also focusing on the visibility of our brands in agentic search engines. It's really evolving. We've launched with Operator for OpenAI, which I still see as a precursor to an agentic interface because you're looking at the cursor moving on your screen. Of course, true agentic, where it's going, will be more behind-the-scenes. But it's very important to be early so that we can experiment and iterate. Another example is being a launch partner for Copilot Plus, which is the way Microsoft is evolving. There's so much development between each of these LLM providers and depending on which week of the month, there's a new model here, and things completely change. There are a lot of AI experts popping up left, right, and center. It's important for us to make sure that we do a lot of our marketing in-house — the majority — and that we further evolve our in-house functions to be ready for the future. Google is a very important partner of ours. A lot of our traffic is still from Google. The way they're using Gemini with AI Overviews is already impacting our existing traffic in a big way. We look to understand which search queries are triggering AI overviews, and then we look at our traffic trends, and we triangulate. So we could, for example, see that certain keyword buckets trigger more overviews than last month, and that will have a certain impact on traffic and conversion. Traffic may go down, but conversions may go up because the traffic becomes more qualified. I do believe the funnel — as we call it as marketers — will start to collapse more and more over time. We want to make it a lot more seamless so that there is not that kind of disconnect between the inspiration and the action.
Geek Wire
09-05-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
New Expedia feature uses AI to help travelers plan and book trips based off shared Instagram Reels
Expedia Trip Matching is a new feature that allows Instagram users to share travel-related Reels with Expedia and receive AI-powered travel-planning information back. (Expedia Images) Don't just scroll past those influencers soaking up all the sun at far-off destinations in your Instagram feed. Build an itinerary and book a trip in the same location. That's the premise from Seattle-based travel giant Expedia, which announced the beta release Friday of Expedia Trip Matching, a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to reel travelers in through Instagram Reels. It works when would-be travelers share any publicly available travel-related Reel directly with the official @Expedia account on Instagram. When the video is sent, it initiates an AI-generated response from Expedia with personalized travel recommendations, itineraries and trip-planning resources based on the video. Travelers can review and book directly from that customized itinerary, turning their social media travel daydreaming into real-world booking. Expedia says it's the first online travel agency to integrate real-time, AI-powered travel planning directly into Instagram. 'It's no secret people are getting their news, inspiration and travel ideas from influencers and content creators, with a recent study showing that 80% of millennials rely on social media for travel decisions,' said Jochen Koedijk, chief marketing officer at Expedia Group, in a statement. 'We want to be where consumers get their inspiration, which is through social media.' Trip Matching will be available to U.S. travelers in the upcoming weeks. Expedia shares fell more than 8% after the online travel giant company reported earnings Thursday and said it saw lower-than-expected demand in the U.S. — including a substantial decrease in inbound bookings from Canada.
Hospitality Net
09-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Expedia Launches Industry-First Feature That Turns Instagram Reels into Bookable Travel Itineraries
SEATTLE - Expedia® today announced Expedia® Trip Matching, a first-of-its-kind feature that allows travelers to seamlessly build an itinerary based on an Instagram Reel and then book directly on Expedia. Travelers can share any publicly available travel-related Reel—whether from content creators they follow or trending posts—directly with Expedia and receive customized itineraries, destination ideas, and travel tips based on the video. Powered by AI, this new experience transforms inspiration into real-world travel plans, making it easier than ever to book travel directly from Instagram. It's no secret people are getting their news, inspiration and travel ideas from influencers and content creators, with a recent study showing that 80% of millennials rely on social media for travel decisions.* We want to be where consumers get their inspiration, which is through social media. Now with Expedia® Trip Matching, travelers can seamlessly build an itinerary based on an Instagram Reel and book it directly on Expedia. Jochen Koedijk, Chief Marketing Officer, Expedia Group How Expedia® Trip Matching works: Find inspiration: While scrolling Instagram, a user finds a Reel featuring a destination or experience they love. While scrolling Instagram, a user finds a Reel featuring a destination or experience they love. Share it with Expedia: They tap the share icon on the Reel, search for the @Expedia account, and send the video. They tap the share icon on the Reel, search for the account, and send the video. Receive fast results: Expedia replies with AI-generated, personalized travel recommendations, itineraries, and trip-planning resources based on the video. Expedia replies with AI-generated, personalized travel recommendations, itineraries, and trip-planning resources based on the video. Book when ready: Travelers can review and book directly from the customized itinerary—seamlessly bridging social discovery with real-world booking. Expedia® Trip Matching is now open for beta access by visiting The feature will be available to U.S. travelers in the upcoming weeks. Through the new trip matching feature, Expedia becomes the first OTA to integrate real-time, AI-powered travel planning directly into Instagram. The feature reflects the company's commitment to innovation and meeting the next generation of travelers where they are - inspired, mobile, and social-first. * Source: Klook Pulse study, November 2023 About Expedia Group Expedia Group, Inc. companies power travel for everyone, everywhere through our global platform. Driven by the core belief that travel is a force for good, we help people experience the world in new ways and build lasting connections. We provide industry-leading technology solutions to fuel partner growth and success, while facilitating memorable experiences for travelers. Our organization is made up of three pillars: Expedia Product & Technology, focused on the group's product and technical strategy and offerings; Expedia Brands, housing all our consumer brands; and Expedia for Business, consisting of business-to-business solutions and relationships throughout the travel ecosystem. The Expedia Group family of brands includes Expedia®, Expedia® Partner Solutions, Vrbo®, trivago®, Orbitz®, Travelocity®, Hotwire®, Wotif®, ebookers®, CheapTickets®, Expedia Group™ Media Solutions, and Expedia Cruises™. © 2023 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners. CST: 2029030-50
Time Out
09-05-2025
- Time Out
This new travel tool turns Instagram reels into a bookable itinerary
Social media is a sprawling abyss of travel inspiration, and plenty of us will have a folder or two on Instagram full of reels showcasing pretty beaches, lesser-known islands, cool cities and amazing restaurants that we plan to come back to later. But do we ever actually do that? Well, some of us might, but now that booking platform Expedia has launched Expedia® Trip Matching, there's a good chance all those reels will become a whole lot more useful. So, what is 'Trip Matching'? Well, it's an AI-powered tool which allows you to share any public Instagram Reel with Expedia and in return receive itineraries, ideas and a list of tips based on said video. It's really easy – all you need to do is have a scroll, find some inspo, head to the Expedia website to share it and you'll get some pretty speedy results. Then comes the option to browse and book directly from the itinerary. 'It's no secret people are getting their news, inspiration and travel ideas from influencers and content creators, with a recent study showing that 80 percent of millennials rely on social media for travel decisions,' said Jochen Koedijk, Expedia's chief marketing officer, 'We want to be where consumers get their inspiration, which is through social media.' Travel guides written by experts At Time Out, we live and breathe travel, and that's why we pour so much love and local knowledge into our worldwide travel guides – you can't really beat that.
