EXPEDIA GROUP ANNOUNCES ‘ONE KEY,’ A GROUNDBREAKING NEW LOYALTY PROGRAM THAT REWARDS EVERY TRAVELER

Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo Unite as a Single Loyalty Program Driving Earn and Spend of OneKeyCash Across All Three Travel Apps

Vrbo First Major Vacation Rental Platform With Loyalty Program

New AI-powered Features Revolutionize How Travelers Plan and Shop a Trip

July 2023, NEW YORK CITY Expedia Group™ continues to innovate and lead the travel industry with the launch of One Key™. This groundbreaking new loyalty program unifies the company’s three flagship travel brands of Expedia®, Hotels com® and Vrbo®, and marks the first time a major online vacation rental platform will have a loyalty program

One Key combines the three industry-leading travel brands into one simple, flexible program, enabling travelers to earn and use rewards across Expedia Group’s vast marketplace of eligible flights, hotels, vacation homes, car rentals, cruises and activities. The ability to earn rewards on a Vrbo vacation rental and use them on a flight on Expedia or a hotel on Hotels.com creates endless travel possibilities for members and is a game changer for travel rewards programs. One Key is now live in the U.S. and will roll out globally, starting in 2024.

The company’s combined loyalty programs have more than 168 million members and have provided more than $10 billion in travel savings to date With the launch of One Key, Expedia Group plans to give millions more travelers access to savings, rewards and perks. The program is designed to benefit every traveler, and One Key members instantly save with access to compelling Member Prices on select flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals and activities. Members can also reach status quickly with One Key, with the ability to qualify for Silver with just one trip.* As travelers progress to higher membership tiers, they unlock deeper discounts and can enjoy great in-stay perks at VIP Access properties ** Gold and Platinum members can also take advantage of Price Drop Protection*** at no extra cost for eligible flight bookings made on the Expedia app Lastly, the One Key program has a single rewards currency called OneKeyCash™, which members earn when they travel and can use on future bookings in addition to all the savings and perks the program offers

“We’ve significantly increased the pace of innovation at Expedia Group over the past few years, allowing us to push the boundaries in tech, loyalty, and service From our industry-leading advancements in AI and machine learning to our flexible new loyalty program, One Key, no company is doing more to put the traveler experience front and center in everything we do,” said Peter Kern, Vice Chairman and CEO, Expedia Group.

“We designed One Key to reward every traveler — the road warriors, the frequent flyers, and the 83% of travelers who only take a few trips a year and never really benefit from other loyalty programs,” said Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands “By bringing together our three biggest travel brands into one program, travelers can easily earn rewards across our family of brands So whether you fly, rent a car, stay at a hotel, or relax in a private vacation home, more travelers will have OneKeyCash in their ‘wallets’ to spend on their very next trip It’s about making travel rewards simple for everyone, not just because it’s sunny, a Tuesday, and the planets are miraculously in alignment.”

Leading the way in using advanced technologies to drive big traveler-first transformations and deliver high-value customers to partners, Expedia Group continues to build with AI to take the complexity out of planning and shopping for a trip with some new product features:

Conversational planning built with generative AI: Giving Expedia members a more intuitive way to start planning their next big trip, earlier this year the company launched conversational trip planning powered by ChatGPT in the Expedia iOS app. Early next month, it’ll also be available on the Expedia Android app, and some exciting new features have been added:

Building on more intelligent shopping, activities recommended in the conversation will automatically save to Trip Planner alongside hotels, making it easier for members to stay organized, add more trip items, and start looking into other aspects like availability.

Helping travelers to visualize their trip, later this summer hotels recommended during a conversation will also feature images and more accurate details such as price ranges and reviews from travelers

Enriching the conversational experience, later this summer Expedia members will be able to go back and continue the same conversation at any time, start a new conversation by choosing one of the suggested prompts, and even respond throughout a conversation by simply choosing a suggested response, bringing them one step closer to booking their dream trip.

Smart shopping: This AI-powered technology helps travelers take the stress out of finding their perfect stay with the launch of smart shopping for hotels on the com app This innovative solution helps travelers more easily compare and narrow down their hotel options when shopping in the app through features like:

A new hotel comparison tool that travelers can use to compare prices, ratings, amenities and more, side by side for up to five properties.

AI-powered recommendations that suggest the best room type for travelers based on 40 factors such as who’s traveling, where they’re going, and for how long.

An intuitive new way for travelers to personalize their stay with compelling extras like breakfast, parking and refundability, with a clear understanding of how much more each costs

Air credit redemption: Making it easier for travelers to shop and book a flight using their air credits, travelers can now simply log into their Expedia account to apply their air credit to an eligible flight in just a few clicks.

One Key is now available to Expedia, Hotels com and Vrbo customers in the U S Learn more about One Key and sign up here Travelers can start using conversational trip planning powered by ChatGPT, smart shopping for hotels and Air Credit Redemption now Download the Expedia and Hotels com apps today

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Sodexo employee wins inaugural Paula Mee Applied Culinary Nutrition Award

John Core, culinary nutrition lead and group business manager with catering and workplace services provider Sodexo Ireland, has won the inaugural Paula Mee Applied Culinary Nutrition Memorial Award from TU Dublin.

It was established earlier this year by the university’s School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in memory of Paula, a well-known author and lecturer at the school, who was one of Ireland’s most prominent dieticians and food experts for the past two decades. It is only open to graduates, John Core among them, of the Master of Culinary Arts Applied Nutrition programme delivered on the university’s Tallaght Campus.

Annette Sweeney, senior lecturer in Culinary Arts and the master’s programme lead at TU Dublin, presented the Award to John Core at a recent celebration in Dublin. Annette said:

“The Paula Mee Applied Culinary Nutrition Memorial Award recognises excellence and showcases the application of culinary nutrition by graduates of the MSc in Culinary Arts Applied Nutrition, in their workplace, in their professional activities or research. It honours Paula’s passion for nutrition and the importance she placed on learning and sharing knowledge and in making a difference in the nutritional health of others.”

The ethos and research activity are focused on empowering students and graduates to creatively and confidently apply their learning to innovate food for health and wellness, in line with current food and dietary trends.

Commenting on his win, John Core said “I’m absolutely delighted as it such a huge honour to be the first to win this Award. I was fortunate enough to work with Paula while completing my master’s and to have my name associated with someone of her calibre is very high praise. I want to express my gratitude for the positive impact that she and the master’s programme has had upon my career. It has inspired and empowered me to pioneer new pathways for health through culinary nutrition for Sodexo’s clients and my work colleagues.”

John’s winning entry focused on the application of his learnings from the master’s programme for Sodexo Ireland clients, colleagues and communities. With a growing desire by employers to support employee’s health and wellbeing, John is supporting clients in Ireland, via a mix of workshops, webinars, blogs, and pop-up food concepts, to raise awareness of optimising nutrition in the workplace. For his colleagues, John designed and led Sodexo Ireland’s successful #FullyFuelled challenge, a 4-week programme based on the Mediterranean diet, complete with recipes and a weekly webinar, to encourage healthier eating patterns. John was also involved in the content development of a nutritionally sound series of video recipes for one of Sodexo's charity partners, Focus Ireland, designed to support families exiting homelessness.

The independent judging panel members, Dr Aileen McGloin (Director of Nutrition, Safefood) Nuala Collins (FSAI Reformulation Task force), Sylvia Thompson (The Irish Times), Dr Linda Shiue (USA) and Joshna Maharaj (Toronto), commended all finalists on the valuable contribution they are making to the health of others through their work.

Workplace services provider Sodexo Ireland employs 2,000 people on the island of Ireland. It is part of the global Sodexo Group, a world leader in delivering services that improve the quality of life to clients in business and industry, education, financial, pharma and healthcare. These include food services, infrastructure build, facilities and estate management, optimising the workplace experience, wellness experiences, personal and homecare services.