Skift Take
Did Ariane Gorin’s strategy changes speed Peter Kern’s departure from the Expedia Group board?
Former Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern gave up his vice chairman role and exited the board, the company announced. It said Kern “agreed” to do so “given the speed and success of the Company’s recent management transition.”
Ariane Gorin took over as Expedia Group CEO on May 13, replacing Kern, who had become CEO in 2020. Kern joined the Expedia Group board in 2005, and became vice chairman in 2018.
Gorin Reversed Some of Kern’s Strategies
During Gorin’s four months as CEO, she has rolled back elements of Kern’s strategy. For example, Gorin paused the global rollout of Expedia Group’s One Key loyalty program, a signature element of Kern’s reign, beyond the U.S. and UK.
The foundation of the program is that members would be able to earn and burn One Key “cash” across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. But Gorin has noted that Expedia Group doesn’t have all three brands in some international markets, which complicates the program. She has also said that Hotels.com lost a big advantage in its own Hotels.com Rewards program because One Key diluted those rewards.
Gorin also said last month that the company needs to “move back” a bit and fine-tune the multiyear tech platform consolidation started under Kern to help the recoveries of its Vrbo and Hotels.com brands. This would entail layering Vrbo- and Hotels.com-specific features on top of the consolidated tech platform.
A Strong Second Quarter
Expedia Group had a strong second quarter. Expedia.com outperformed all major competitors in room night growth, although Vrbo and Hotels.com still lagged.
Former Expedia Group CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who left in 2017 to become Uber’s CEO, is still an Expedia board member.
In the most recent departure from the Expedia Group’s board before Kern’s, that of OpenAI’s Sam Altman in June 2023, the company stated it was not “because of any disagreement with the Company, its management, or the Board.” The statement about Kern’s exit had no such wording.
Expedia is not replacing Kern with a new board member, so the board will have 12 directors, six women, including Gorin, and six men, instead of 13 directors and a male majority. No word yet from Expedia whether the board will get a new vice chairman.
Barry Diller is the board chairman and the company’s senior executive.