Innovation and Adaptation: Betsy Steckler on Booking.com's Travel Strategies

Booking.com’s Betsy Steckler on Experimentation, AI, and What Travelers Really WantHost Steve Schwab interviews Betsy Steckler, Regional Director Partner Services of North America at Booking.com, about how the company uses data-driven experimentation and iteration—running about 1,000 experiments a day—to optimize traveler experiences and partner conversion rather than relying on opinions or flashy design. Betsy explains why Booking sometimes “zigs” when competitors “zag,” and shares lessons from launching and shutting down Villas.com, framed as a “fail fast” learning that reinforced travelers’ desire to compare all accommodation types in one place and helped shape the Connected Trip vision. She outlines three traveler truths from Booking’s annual survey of about 30,000 people: accountability, value for money, and authenticity, and discusses AI’s role in speeding decisions while keeping final booking decisions human. Betsy advises property managers to focus on differentiation, content, reviews, cancellations, and traveler mix, emphasizing partnership and collaboration with Booking.com.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:27 Betsy Background and Role01:36 AI and Staying Relevant03:07 Competition and Data Culture05:39 A Thousand Experiments Daily08:36 Why Booking Zigz14:01 Villas.com Lessons Learned17:10 Fail Fast Culture21:01 Onboarding for Experimentation25:06 Connected Trip Expansion28:13 Three Traveler Truths30:44 AI Trust and Human Choice33:37 Advice for Property Managers38:50 Signals Reviews and Cancellations41:42 Using Competition to Grow44:44 Ranking Risks and Reviews45:53 Future Partnership and Wrap Up