Oral History of Online Travel: Barry Diller’s Deals Built A Travel Empire
Photo Credit: Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Inc., speaking at this year's World Travel and Tourism Council conference in Dallas, Texas. Flickr / World Travel and Tourism Council
Skift Take
Barry Diller, the senior executive at both IAC and Expedia, doesn't need any more plaques on his mansions' walls but he is one of the people who had oversized influence in making online travel what it is today. He had a great eye for how e-commerce would emerge and he pulled the trigger on his great acquisitions.
Skift launched its largest and most ambitious project yet, The Definitive Oral History of Online Travel, on June 1.
In nearly 40,000 words founders, CEOs, other executives and insiders tell a story in their own words about the creation of Internet giants such as Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz, TripAdvisor and more.
Not all of the interviews fit into the big story so we are publishing standalone stories that offer deeper insight into information we collected during the three-month research process.
In the annals of online travel, many people are familiar with how Jeffery Boyd, currently the interim CEO of the Priceline Group, turned around a teetering Priceline.com in the early 2000s, and in tandem with Glenn Fogel, head of worldwide strategy and planning, acquired Active Hotels in 2004, added on Bookings B.V. the following year, merged them to create Booking.com, and developed a $68 billion juggernaut.
Perhaps less well-known as a game-changing acquisition team is
