Company has doubled down and invested massively in the latest tech capabilities using AI and machine learning to accelerate innovation, says CEO
Expedia Group has unveiled its Autumn Release 2023, showcasing an array of new features and products aimed at enhancing the travel planning process. These updates focus on how travellers explore new destinations, coordinate group trips, and access swift AI-generated responses to common travel inquiries.
Peter Kern, Vice Chairman and CEO of Expedia Group, emphasised the company’s long-standing commitment to employing technology to empower travellers. He said, “Expedia Group invented online travel more than 25 years ago with the goal of using technology to empower travellers around the world. In the past few years, we’ve doubled down and invested massively in the latest tech capabilities using AI and machine learning to accelerate our innovation to better serve the millions of travellers who come to us every day.”
The Autumn Release 2023 brings several notable features and product updates designed to address common traveller challenges:
For instance, Expedia says that with its Trip Planner, travellers can now collaborate with friends and family when planning group trips using the feature. This integrated tool enables users to collectively explore options, review saved choices, and track bookings for accommodations, flights, activities, and car rentals. Invited companions can engage by liking, commenting, saving additional ideas, and monitoring existing reservations. With interactivity akin to most social media platforms, the tool acts as a hub for group trip planning.
Expedia also announced the Dynamic Travel Guides to assist travellers in selecting the optimal time to visit specific destinations, offer insights into hotel prices, weather conditions, and crowd levels for some of the world’s most popular cities.
Here’s where Artificial Intelligence comes in.
Expedia announced a feature called Amenity Answers that utilises generative AI to extract pertinent details from guest reviews concerning hotel amenities. This feature provides travellers with insights into facilities such as pools or restaurants, eliminating the need for manual research. It’s important to note that Amenity Answers is currently only available in English on the Expedia app.
Expedia says that another feature that employs generative AI is Property Answers, to assist travellers in obtaining essential information about specific accommodations. This feature is particularly useful for finding details about Wi-Fi availability, parking fees, and other property-specific inquiries. Like Amenity Answers, Property Answers is currently available only in English on the Expedia app.
Other updated tools on Expedia’s platform include the Flexible Date Search for Stays which empowers consumers to discover the best accommodation options by widening their search criteria.
Other noteworthy features in the Autumn Release 2023 include an Add to Wallet function that offers the convenience of adding hotel booking information to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and Anytime Breakfast Upgrades, where travellers can now add breakfast to their hotel reservations.
Expedia noted that all the features and products introduced in the Autumn Release 2023 will be gradually rolled out on the Expedia app globally by the end of 2023, unless specific exceptions for certain countries are mentioned.
