Expedia and IHG Lay Out Their Next Steps with AI

What does an online travel giant with a smorgasbord of AI do for its next act? Make the tech smarter and more contextual, said Expedia Group Managing Director Angela Vega at a Dreamforce session late Wednesday afternoon.

Vega laid out the priorities in a panel alongside Beth Burkett, head of CRM for IHG Hotel and Resorts.

“What I'm excited to see, especially as we start to think about collaborative contextualization, and where people are more willing to give information to get a better outcome, is how do we leverage that?” she said.

“Recommendations don't need to be based just on the products that I looked at, but the ... outcome of my trip that I would like to have,” said Vega. “And so I think that's the next layer.”

As an example, she brought up a scenario of four adults booking a trip to Cancún, and how that would not be the right time to recommend a visit to a children's museum. Likewise for a romantic get-away or a girl-bond