Local Relationships as the Real Differentiator

1. Trip.com Group is one of the world’s largest OTAs, yet its brand awareness in Europe remains significantly lower than that of Airbnb or Booking.com. As the person leading alternative accommodation across the continent, how do you approach growing supply and partner confidence in markets where Trip.com is still building its reputation?

We are quickly growing not only in Europe but in the rest of the world as well.  Given we are one stop shop, very well known for users that book flights and now trains, growing our accommodation side of the business is equally important. We have also been building relationships with different country tourism boards in order to better promote destinations to our Chinese and Asian guests.  As we scale our growth and build up teams, we are also better equipped to show existing and new partners that while we are a global company, we are local and here to understand the needs of each individual partner. 

2. You moved into your current role in January 2024, expanding from Southern and Eastern Europe to the whole continent. What did that wider remit reveal about the differences in how European markets approach alternative accommodation?

Each country is unique and has its own technicalities.  Thanks to our government relations team we have also been understanding at country level the different laws, license requirements, etc. that needed to be implemented to that we are fully compliant with local governance.  We have also been growing the team in order to have local presence for our alternative accommodation business. Currently we have business development managers in the UK, Spain, France and Italy which are our main focus markets while also keeping presence across the rest of Europe as well. 

3. Trip.com Group has been investing heavily in AI-driven personalisation and itinerary planning, with tools like TripGenie showing significantly higher conversion rates. How is that technology changing the way guests discover and book alternative accommodation specifically, and what does it mean for property managers who want to perform well on the platform?

TripGenie combines large language models for intent recognition and natural language parsing, offers multi-turn interactive dialogues, and meets needs such as information queries and bookings for accomodation, flights, trains as well as tours and attractions for example. It also provides real-time intelligent support for itinerary planning, travel-related question answering, and seamless bookings, while creating personalized, dynamic experiences adapted to each traveler’s preferences. Given this support it can help families for example find the right apartment based on exactly what they are looking for without the hassle of searching on their own.  It also learns so future searches are easier based on past experiences.

4. You spent six years at Expedia Group before joining Trip.com, working across Spain and the Balearic and Canary Islands. With that perspective on both platforms, how would you describe the fundamental difference in what European vacation rental operators actually need from a large OTA?

During my tenure at Expedia I was more focused on the hotel side of the business growing and expanding our coverage in Catalunya and then the Spanish Islands.  Working now at Trip and especially on the alternative accommodation side, what I see and feedback I get is the need to have a personalized communication.  The fact that they know that they can reach out and speak to me our our other country market managers helps to build that trust and partner confidence.  They also appreciate the recommendations we give on how to attract more Chinese and Asian travelers to their properties.  Building close relationships is key.