Is the Thrill Gone in Online Travel? Experiences to the Rescue? Hear More at Skift Global Forum

Where is the growth and momentum going to come from in online travel over the next few years as the law of large numbers and increased competition take hold? Is the thrill gone?

We expect the bosses of Booking Holdings, Expedia Group and Airbnb to push back on that notion at the Skift Global Forum September 17-19 in New York City.

For Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin, this will be her first interview at a major travel industry conference since taking the top job. We’ll hear more about the changes she’s been making during her first four months. While room night growth rates in the high 20% range were common a decade ago, only one of the big three major online travel companies – Expedia Group – broke into the double digits in the second quarter.

Experiences to the Rescue?

Could higher growth come from experiences? Airbnb has just rebooted its experiences product so we’ll be hearing more about that at the Forum. The leaders of GetYourGuide, Viator and Klook will all be on stage, too.

And what about Tripadvisor? Will it get sold and will its Viator experiences unit get spun off? Tripadvisor CEO Matt Goldberg will surely weigh in on that subject, as well as its new instant booking feature in partnership with Hopper, and other strategy changes.

Tripadvisor board member and Certares founder Greg O’Hara will close out the Forum on Thursday. Liberty Tripadvisor, which is Tripadvisor’s controlling shareholder, and Certares are in talks about Liberty Tripadvisor’s need to repay O’Hara’s company for a $325 million preferred stock investment by March 2025, a scenario that would weigh on Tripadvisor’s future.

We’ll be hearing at the Forum from both Booking’s Glenn Fogel and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky. Booking claims to generate two-thirds of Airbnb’s room nights, and to be growing faster. Can Booking close that gap even though its “alternative accommodations” still lag in the U.S. And what’s next regarding Airbnb’s pledge to expand beyond its core short-term rental product?

Without a doubt there will be much discussion about generative AI and personalization? Is the real impact in 2025 plans or still many years away?