Seattle-based travel company Expedia Group Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE) has hired longtime Google veteran Rob Torres to lead Expedia's global advertising business as senior vice president of Expedia Group Media Solutions.
Torres spent more than 15 years at Google, where he was the managing director of advertising and marketing for Google's travel division, according to Expedia. Before that, he was at Expedia for seven years as vice president of strategic accounts.
“After nearly 16 years away from Expedia Group, I’m excited to return to the company with a focus on delivering creative and insights-led campaigns for advertising partners and contributing to industry growth,” Torres said in a news release. “It’s a pivotal time for destinations and travel brands, primed with opportunity to inspire travelers in new ways and capture pent-up demand, and I look forward to working with the media solutions team and our partners.”
Torres also serves on the 32-member U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which advises the secretary of commerce.
Expedia Group Media Solutions is the company's advertising arm that connects marketers with Expedia's users. According to Expedia, the team has worked with close to 1,000 consumer brands.
Expedia's brands include Vrbo, Hotels.com and Orbitz. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, has proved challenging for the company, which laid off 3,500 employees in February 2020. Expedia has since focused on decluttering its operations, an effort that included a rebrand and simplified customer experience. The company in May announced the sale of its corporate travel arm, Egencia, to American Express Global Business Travel. The deal closed in November.
The company last year announced a new corporate structure that would include four departments: Expedia Services, Expedia Brands, Expedia Marketplace and Expedia for Business, which houses Expedia Group Media Solutions.
“With access to our industry-leading travel data, platform, and marketing technology, we’re uniquely positioned to help brands better connect with and improve the traveler experience," Ariane Gorin, president of Expedia for Business, said in a news release. "Rob’s expertise will help us reimagine how we engage with travelers and support partners across the industry during continued recovery and beyond.”
Expedia employees started returning to their offices Monday and are required by the company to be vaccinated, along with visitors. The company initially began moving employees into its new Interbay campus right as the pandemic hit. Employees are now expected to spend at least half of their time in the office unless local restrictions prohibit it.
In its fourth quarter 2021 financial results, released in February, Expedia reported revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, up 148% year over year but down 17% from the fourth quarter of 2019.
