Creating the most engaging community of travellers in Booking.com

Making it easier for everyone to experience the world

Despite its popularity in the travel industry, Booking.com is still perceived as a transactional place, one you go to when you know what you want to book.

I joined to help change that by opening up channels where we could create content with our users while resolving their frictions.

It only seemed appropriate since Amsterdam, where Booking.com is based (see below), is one of the most diverse and multicultural cities in the world.

So we created Travel Communities, a place where people can go to ask questions or share recommendations about all the different stages of travelling. This is the home for people who have pressing doubts and are seeking human validation before making a choice and also for those who are so passionate about their hometown or favourite destination that cannot wait to share that with the rest of the world.

As part of these efforts, we have a group of super-passionate community members called Travel Ambassadors who consistently create content with us and engage in conversations with other users.

They made themselves available to answer any questions people may have about a specific country, but also share content on what are the unmissable things In a place.

They can share things like hidden jewels in a particular location, things you wouldn't necessarily know about that can give you an edge in a conversation or can prompt you to visit a particular place.

We are just getting started but our efforts have caught the attention of the industry which has led me to speak in detail about harnessing the power of communities and their content across different Marketing events.