Expedia Moves Product Guru to HomeAway to Better Battle Airbnb
Photo Caption: HomeAway's current look and modes of booking will likely transition to an experience more similar to that of market leader Airbnb.
Skift Take
One of the reasons HomeAway thought it would be in its interests to get acquired is that it faced substantial risks in transitioning to an online bookable platform and tacking on a fee that travelers have to pay. Now it has Expedia's marketing muscle and tech skills to support all the changes, and a tested product official to help lead the effort.
John Kim, who had been Expedia's chief product officer since 2011 as the company executed major product and platform changes, is now chief ecommerce officer at sister brand HomeAway as the vacation rental site embarks on what Expedia CFO Mark Okerstrom characterized as "a difficult transition" that will take a few years.
Speaking at Expedia's investor day March 16 in New York City, Okerstrom said the first phase of the transition of HomeAway, which Expedia acquired in December for $3.9 billion, is to make the vast majority of its properties online booka
