Technology Magazine October 2021 | Page 164

PRICELINE

so impressed by the e-commerce start-up he agreed to be partially compensated with stock . The company launch was so successful that their two servers crashed immediately as so many people wanted to name their price . Priceline was born .

More than 20 years later , Shatner may have been replaced by actress Kaley Cuoco , known for her role in The Flight Attendant , but Priceline , part of Booking Holdings , continues to focus on the customer to offer the very best deals available on hotel rooms , flights , rental cars , vacation packages and cruises .

“ Americans love to travel , but since the pandemic we are seeing more focus on domestic travel , whether it ' s a road trip and staying in a hotel , or going to a beach within the US ,” said Brodbeck .

“ Through our technology platform and our analytics we quickly saw a shift from people booking flights to road trips . Once we saw that data we started providing travel products and discounts that bundled rental cars and hotels together . We also developed specific features where users could find the nearest rental car based on their location and bundle it with a hotel to get greater discounts .”

Brodbeck , who previously worked for Pfizer , joined Priceline just before the pandemic and is shaping its digital roadmap . He pointed out how Priceline is using technology to turn the tide to bring affordable travel back to consumers with the use of product development and a multiservice digital payment platform .

“ Navigating the challenges of the pandemic has been a great learning experience for me because it accelerated a lot of the things that we wanted to do as a company and created an opportunity for us to collaborate on a global level ,” he said .

Brodbeck is responsible for product engineering , data analytics , machine learning

MARTIN BRODBECK CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER , PRICELINE

164 October 2021