Booking CEO Details AI-Powered Connected Trip Strategy at Global TMT Conference

Booking CEO and Director Glenn Fogel outlined the online travel company’s priorities around artificial intelligence, its Connected Trip strategy, loyalty programs, alternative accommodations and business-to-business operations during a Global TMT Conference discussion.

Fogel said the company sees AI as a tool to make travel planning, booking and disruption management more personalized and automated. He described AI as a “prediction machine” that could eventually identify and resolve potential travel problems before a customer knows they may occur.

Fogel used an example involving a traveler in Amsterdam who had scheduled a canal tour on a rainy day and a museum visit on a sunny day. In his vision, Booking’s technology could proactively suggest switching the reservations based on weather forecasts, while handling the required changes for the traveler.

He also said the company should use customer history to improve trip discovery. Fogel cited a recent family trip to Zurich, where he said Booking could have inferred an interest in swimming from prior stays near lakes and alerted the family to a nearby public swimming area.

While Fogel said the company is “not there yet” in delivering that level of personalized assistance, he said it is progressing through experiments across its brands, including Booking.com, Priceline and Agoda. He highlighted Priceline’s revamped AI assistant, Penny, saying the product has generated favorable customer-satisfaction scores, engagement, conversion and other metrics, though he cautioned that results are from a small sample.

Booking is also pursuing separate AI-native initiatives, including one led by KAYAK founder Steve Hafner, according to Fogel.

Fogel said the Connected Trip strategy is linked with Booking’s Genius loyalty program, which the company is revamping. The company aims to create a flywheel in which increased usage gives Booking more information about travelers, allowing it to provide more relevant offers and improved service. He said more than 30% of active customers are Genius Level 2 or Level 3 members and described the program as a way to provide greater benefits to its most loyal users.

However, he said the company must balance expanding loyalty benefits with maintaining the program’s value for hotel and other supply partners. Fogel noted that hotels may be willing to offer lower rates or participate in programs such as Genius when Booking delivers incremental demand. A hotel room left vacant produces no revenue, while filling an otherwise empty room can have a meaningful impact on profitability, he said.

“I want to provide it for both sides of this marketplace,” Fogel said, referring to travelers and partners including hotels, airlines, rental-car providers, attractions and insurers.

In the U.S., Fogel said Booking needs to increase both supply and consumer awareness for alternative accommod...