Nevadan At Work: Executive builds business ties to help Expedia thrive

Melissa Maher always wanted to work in the hotel industry.

The primary reason she left her hometown of Kokomo, Ind., was to study hotel management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Upon graduation, Maher landed a job on the Strip in convention sales.

Today, Maher doesn't just work for one hotel. She works for hundreds.

Maher is global vice president for Expedia Inc. and the head of the travel company's telephone call center in Las Vegas. She manages the business relationships with Expedia's top strategic hotel partners.

"Turning to this side allows me to be involved with the best of both worlds," Maher said. "I work closely with the hotels in many different markets around the world. My career aspiration was to be in the hotel business, but it's nice to be able to see things from a full market perspective."

Expedia, which has its corporate headquarters in Bellingham, Wash., moved into the Las Vegas market in 2001, when the company acquired rival Travelscape. The call center, from its offices in Summerlin, expanded to help manage the company's various online travel products. The call center employs roughly 500 workers.

In the 10 years she's been with the company, Maher has seen and experienced the changes in the business. Expedia brands cover all aspects of travel booking and the company has gained a growing presence in corporate travel management through Egencia.

Despite the recession, consumers still found ways to travel, Maher said. Expedia also sees itself as a marketing partner for hotels and destinations.

In 2010, Expedia's marketing programs were valued at $73 million toward promotion of Las Vegas.

"Hotel companies often use us for the billboard effect," Maher said. "We have so many eyeballs coming to our site, consumers might find a hotel on our page, but will contact the hotel directly. It can be quite meaningful."

Maher's role with Expedia has allowed her to have a better understanding of trends in the travel industry.

Question: What are your day-to-day job duties?

Answer: There are three areas that I oversee. The first includes the global strategic accounts, which is all the business with our chain hotels. Second, I have responsibility with our gaming marketing team that manages Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Lake Tahoe and other gaming areas. Third is an industry relations function in which I work with the supply side.

Question: Where does Las Vegas fit into Expedia's overall picture?

Answer: We have a pretty substantial package business in Las Vegas. That's where someone books both the hotel and airfare through us. Over half the travel into Las Vegas with Expedia comes through the package business. When a customer books through a package, they book further out and stay longer. They will actually pay a little higher rate. Hotels value that business.

Question: How have hotels changed the way they use Expedia?

Answer: We used to literally buy blocks of rooms and airline tickets. But in today's world, with technology, things are much more fluid. Hotels can put inventory in our system and manage it easier. They can take rates up and down, take rooms out and put them back in. The yield is managed by the hotels on a need basis. If a convention were to fall out for some reason and a hotel needed last-minute business, they can put extra rooms into the Expedia system.

Question: How much business is done on the telephone versus the Internet?

Answer: Between our brands, such as hotels.com and Expedia, we actually do from 25 percent to 35 percent of our business over the phone, which is a pretty decent phone business.

The mobile business has grown phenomenally. About 10 percent of our searches are on mobile devices. Las Vegas is our No. 1 destination for mobile booking. About 75 percent is more short-term or same-day booking. It's a business that is growing.

Question: Is perceived value still a key for customers booking travel?

Answer: We've seen the hotels give us more discounts and more promotional opportunities in all markets. What we've seen are the hotels taking more advantage of ways to drive business to their properties. At the same time, consumers are always looking for value. They are not supercheap, but they like to believe they are getting a good deal.

On the suppliers' side, the hotels are looking to move a lot of inventory without discounting too much from an average daily rate standpoint. The hotels will give away items like two-for-one show tickets so they can still maintain a little bit of a higher rate.

Question: How important is the promotions aspect?

Answer: We can tailor promotions that are market-specific. In Las Vegas, the promotions are much more value added, such as gaming promotions or shows. In Orlando (Fla.), we might want to do something that drives traffic to the theme parks. We have about 400 to 500 managers on the ground all over the world that are market-specific. They are the experts and take in all the data points and insights. They work with the hotels and share trends and information. A lot of times, when a hotel is only looking at its own inventory, they can miss the entire market. That's where we try and help.

Question: How do call centers help the local economy?

Answer: You can put call centers anywhere, but we made a concentrated effort on Nevada. Obviously the jobs created are important and we also want to be part of the community and participate in the overall health and growth in Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.