Interview: Priceline.com CEO Explains Its Landmark TripAdvisor Deal

Priceline.com CEO Paul Hennessy appeared at the Skift Global Forum in Brooklyn last week and was reluctant to provide details about the Priceline Group's game-changing deal with TripAdvisor, but it was clear that the Priceline Group is satisfied that consumers will realize they are actually dealing with Booking.com or sister sites Priceline.com and Agoda when booking one of their hotels on TripAdvisor sites. "I think we’re comfortable that the customer will know exactly where they are, when they are, through the process, and we think that’s really important because obviously we are in the business of building the Priceline Group brands and not anyone else’s brand," Hennessy said. [See the portion of the Q&A that relates to the Priceline Group-TripAdvisor deal below.] Hennessy spoke for the Priceline.com brand within the Priceline Group but prior to taking on the Priceline.com CEO post in March, he served as Booking.com's chief marketing officer for three-and-a-half years. Book on TripAdvisor enables consumers to book hotels on TripAdvisor sites and apps instead of their having to navigate to third-party websites and possibly getting lost in the switch. Booking.com had refused to participate until last week's reversal and it was a major development for TripAd