Expedia increases investment in travel advisors

In the past year, Expedia TAAP has upped its investment in TAAP both in terms of staff and technology. Robin Lawther, Expedia TAAP Vice President, called 2023 a "foundational year" in terms of technology, with a number of features set to launch in 2024.

Advisors are similar to consumers in how they shop [on the site], but also different. We've got to recognize that we needed to build more things on top.

That includes a new user interface and new payment capabilities, expected to roll out this year. Lawther said TAAP is also examining the consumer-facing booking experience to see what capabilities or features might benefit advisors.

That could include generative AI. Expedia has been an early adopter of the technology, which is capable of creating content, such as text or images. For instance, with Expedia, a ChatGPT integration can help users plan travel itineraries by asking questions in natural language.

Click to see the full story