Flight delays, interminable waits on the tarmac— Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel knows all about travel frustrations firsthand: “You can’t believe you even bothered.”
Here are edited excerpts: A lot of people who are U.S.-based or just not that aware of the world don’t realize how incredibly important the Middle East is to global travel. When they shut down airports like Dubai or Doha or Abu Dhabi, that’s going to have ramifications throughout the world. Then on top of that, the impact on the cost of oil directly impacts the cost of kerosene, which is jet fuel. [That] directly impacts the cost of an airline ticket, which impacts travel. Let’s go with our company Priceline. Priceline has a very good AI travel discovery called Penny. It is really sharp. I’ve tried a lot of complicated, difficult information (on it). I’m going to Switzerland with the family and there are five of us. I explained that my wife and I want to go business class, and I want the (adult) kids back of the bus. I have frequent flier miles with lots of different airlines—what is the best way to do all this?
Fogel, who has been with Booking Holdings since 2000 and CEO for nearly a decade, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about summer travel, AI and how it changes customer service.
“When we start doing that,” says Fogel, who also helms parent company Booking Holdings, “that’s when I’ll feel OK, now we really are a good AI travel agent on your phone and in your pocket.
