Expedia Hires Google Travel Advertising Director Rob Torres

Skift Choose

The pandemic waylaid Expedia Group’s 2019 vow to decrease its reliance on marketing via Google. If Expedia seeks to resume functioning on that target, it now has a critical member of Google’s vacation advertising and marketing leadership to aid guide the energy.

Dennis Schaal

Expedia Group for various years has been attempting to minimize its dependence advertising on Google to achieve prospects, and Expedia has signed on Google’s running director of advertising and promoting to plot method.

Expedia Team announced Monday that Rob Torres has been appointed as senior vice president Media Alternatives, which is its vacation advertising plan. He changed in that job Wendy Olson Killion, who remaining for “personal explanations,” in accordance to a spokesperson for Expedia.

Torres worked for Expedia prior to his a lot more than 15 a long time at Google, as vice president of strategic accounts. In that part from 1999 to 2006, he labored “closely with lodge associates,” Expedia stated.

In a Skift interview Monday afternoon, Torres was requested what appeared like a unexpected job transition from Google to partner/competitor Expedia Team and regardless of whether he experienced a noncompete clause in his Google agreement.

“I really just cannot communicate about that but I can share this is a little something I’ve been thinking of for awhile,” Torres claimed. “This wasn’t just some quick go … It’s something I’ve been imagining about for a prolonged time. In the final two a long time, I have been pondering about what do I want to do subsequent and how do I truly want to guidance the business in other ways.”

Torres declined to remark on whether he could enable Expedia Team cut down its classic dependence on advertising and marketing by way of Google.

He reported he enjoys the travel sector and actually would like to help it. Torres additional that he welcomes the prospect to perform at a company that is entirely concentrated on travel. Google, of program, is associated in several industries.

Torres claimed there’s an prospect to support Expedia Media Answers far better leverage to start with occasion knowledge in an period when privateness worries are growing, and to acquire learnings in this location from retailers such as Amazon and Goal.

“I do not know if they are totally having benefit of that still,” Torres stated, referring to Media Solutions’ use of first celebration information.

He mentioned there are also chances to improve automation, to simplify matters, and to acquire Expedia’s promoting enterprise to the up coming degree, like Google did.

On-line travel agency advertising and marketing has traditionally centered on the resort sector, and Torres stated there are remarkable options to aid sub-sectors these kinds of as destinations and cruise bring in new people or clients.

Requested about Torres’ departure, a Google spokesperson said: “Rob was a beneficial element of the workforce for numerous a long time, and we wish him nicely in his long term endeavors.”

Torres is a Seattle resident, exactly where Expedia Group is headquartered.

The announcement didn’t give a rationale for Torres leaving Google and signing up for Expedia.

“After approximately 16 a long time absent from Expedia Team, I’m fired up to return to the business with a target on offering innovative and insights-led strategies for promoting partners and contributing to market progress,” claimed Torres stated in a statement. “The journey and advertising industries have been through transformational improve for the duration of the past two a long time, from shifting consumer behaviors and expectations to the increasing importance of 1st-bash information and the increase of commerce media. It’s a pivotal time for places and travel makes, primed with prospect to encourage tourists in new ways and seize pent-up demand, and I glimpse ahead to performing with the Media Options group and our companions to travel significant results.” 

In 2021, Expedia’s marketing and media vertical generated $152 million in revenue, an 85 per cent jump in comparison with 2020.

Like other significant on the internet journey firms very last year, Expedia Team leaned into functionality advertising on Google to capture vacation need. In 2021, Expedia Group’s selling and marketing and advertising was $4.2 billion, a 67 percent bounce.

Observe: This tale was current to involve an job interview with Torres and a comment from Google.