Latest news with #LesleyKlein
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Personalization Is Shaping The Travel Economy
MADRID, SPAIN - JANUARY 27: The chef of Simpar Restaurant, Axel Smith, wins the XI Championship for ... More the Best Iberian Ham Croquette at Madrid Fusión 2025 at Ifema on January 27, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. 'Madrid Fusion Foods of Spain' celebrates its 23rd edition since it was first held in 2003. (Photo by) The pandemic didn't just disrupt travel—it reprogrammed it. Travel and live events were the currency consumers most wanted and the absence of opportunities created more than just pent up demand. Gen Zers created bucket lists. The longing that hasn't subsided even though we are years removed from the initial pandemic disruption. Consumers today aren't chasing destinations. They're chasing experiences with meaning. According to Jeff Zotara, CMO at Arrivia, we've entered the age of the purposeful traveler, and loyalty programs must evolve—or risk becoming obsolete. AI has a big role to play in the travel booking shift. 'AI and machine learning are now the engines behind meaningful loyalty,' says Zotara. 'It's not just about booking the next cruise—it's about booking the right cruise with the right excursion, cabin, and cuisine.' 'Today's travelers aren't just chasing deals – they're chasing experiences that reflect who they are,' says Lesley Klein, SVP of Strategy and Brand Marketing at Priceline. 'That's where AI can really deliver. We recently launched Neighborhood Navigator, a new tool that helps travelers find their perfect neighborhood in a new city by cross-matching with neighborhoods they like elsewhere. Combined with additional features like our new Trip Vibe Selector and AI-powered Penny Maps, we're helping customers personalize their trips to align with their interests and passions.' Arrivia's personalization engines have shown 10–12x higher conversion rates when customized travel offers are delivered based on past travel behavior, booking history, and even dining preferences. Think Amazon Prime, but for travel—with every touchpoint curated based on data. When strategy meets technology and the consumers preferences are clearly considered the opportunity to drive increase demand is significant. A person has a conversation with a Humanoid Robot from AI Life, on display at the Consumer ... More Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 10, 2024. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) Zotara sees the experience economy being driven by two major forces: Interestingly, household composition (child vs. no child) was a bigger predictor of immersive travel behavior than age alone when I published my research on youth culture trends. We also discussed the double-edged sword of loyalty benefits. Take American Express: once famed for its 'buy one, get one' first-class offer, it eventually sunsetted the perk. 'If you take something away, you better replace it with something remarkable,' said Zotara. 'Consumers notice—and they're not shy.' In its place? A web of monthly benefits—Uber credits, streaming services, Grubhub perks. The logic? Provide continuous value that keeps cardholders engaged every month, not just on their annual vacation. Zotara outlined what separates great programs from forgettable ones: As Zotara summarized: 'The best loyalty programs are the ones you live with—not just ones you use when you fly.'
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Priceline's AI Tool To Drive Travel Search And Personalization Trends
In an age of abundant options and algorithmic recommendations, the modern traveler doesn't just want to go somewhere—they want to belong somewhere. That's where Priceline's new AI tool, Neighborhood Navigator, comes in. It's not about the cheapest hotel. It's about finding the place that feels right. Celebration of the Flower Festival in New York, along 37th Avenue, from 69th to 82nd streets. (Photo ... More by: Kike Calvo/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Priceline's latest innovation answers a deeper, more emotional need in travel: fit. Whether you're headed to Seattle, Phoenix, or Miami, Neighborhood Navigator helps travelers find neighborhoods that reflect the energy, culture, and aesthetic that resonate personally. 'I don't want to end up in the Times Square of Miami,' says Lesley Klein, Priceline's SVP of Strategy and Brand Marketing. 'I want the West Village vibe—or Dumbo, or Greenpoint. And that's what our users are telling us, especially Millennials and Gen Zs. They want something local, authentic, and true to them.' Neighborhood Navigator blends attitudinal data, geolocation inputs, and Priceline's 25 years of travel intelligence into a streamlined AI interface. But it's not a chatbot—it's something more ambient and effortless. 'It's not conversational,' explains Cobus Kok, VP of Product and AI at Priceline. 'We're using curated prompts to feed data into large language models, which then match users with neighborhoods that reflect their vibe—think artistic, boutique, energetic, quiet.' In layman's terms: You tell Priceline how you want your destination to feel, and the AI returns areas that match your mood. The tool launched in beta with a select set of cities, with broader expansion to come. 'We didn't want to overcomplicate it,' says Klein. 'This version is simple, approachable, and solves a real pain point: Where should I stay in a city I don't know well?' And from a brand strategy standpoint, it's an elegant solution that intersects perfectly with Priceline's core value: delivering joyful travel moments at great value, now with enhanced precision. Dipanjan Chatterjee, VP & Principal Analyst at Forrester remarked, 'This is right in line with what we have found in our brand models. One of the three biggest drivers of the strength of a brand is its ability to offer something that fits the customers, not only in terms of their product, price, or convenience needs, but also by being a brand that fits the kind of person they are. This is the kind of emotional relevance that builds the strongest brand moats.' Here's the simple truth: Travelers want a sense of place—not just a room. In cities we don't know, we often default to central locations or famous landmarks. But that doesn't always yield the best trip. For many travelers, the magic of a new city is in its neighborhoods—its rhythm, its street life, its restaurants and cafés. As a frequent traveler myself, I've had that moment of dislocation—landing in a perfectly nice hotel in the wrong part of town. Good rate, good reviews… and yet, it felt off. That's the problem Neighborhood Navigator is solving. It's a first-of-its-kind solution that blends emotional utility with real-world functionality. 'We're seeing that travel is more and more about lifestyle choices,' says Klein. 'People are traveling for concerts, food, sports, culture. They want to feel immersed. That's what Neighborhood Navigator offers—a path to immersion.' The AI backbone isn't just a gimmick. It's core to the product's success—and Priceline's competitive moat. 'We've been testing AI integrations since GenAI first emerged,' says Kok. 'And now we're building products that don't just answer a question, they anticipate one.' While Penny, Priceline's conversational AI assistant, already supports bookings and real-time customer queries, Neighborhood Navigator takes a more proactive role—serving inspiration at the top of the funnel. In future releases, the two tools may merge, creating a seamless journey from neighborhood discovery to hotel booking and itinerary planning. 'Ultimately, it's about ease and joy,' adds Christina Bennett, Priceline's Head of Communication. 'If we can make it easier for people to find a place that feels like them—then we're delivering real value.' Neighborhood Navigator isn't just a travel tool. It's a brand signal. In a world where loyalty programs are being devalued, Priceline is betting on experiential loyalty—creating unique digital moments that win consumers not just once, but repeatedly. 'We want people to feel like they belong on Priceline,' says Klein. 'That it gets them. That it's their kind of place.' And that's the real power of personalization—not just getting the 'best' option, but the right one.
