Expedia Hires Ex-Pinterest Exec as Bookings Become Its Next Ad Bet

Expedia Group named Bill Watkins as senior vice president and general manager of global advertising.

He will report to Chief Marketing Officer Jochen Koedijk and lead Expedia Group Advertising as the company tries to grow its travel media network. Watkins previously worked at Pinterest, where he held senior revenue and advertising roles.

The appointment shows that Expedia wants advertising to become a bigger part of its business. The company already reaches travelers through Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, and other brands. Now it wants to use that audience to help travel partners reach people who are already planning or booking trips.

Expedia wants to sell booking data, not just travel interest

Expedia’s main advantage is that it can see real travel behavior on its own platforms. A person who books a flight or searches for hotels on Expedia is usually closer to buying than someone who only watches a travel video or likes a destination post.

That is why Expedia is focusing on “confirmed future travel.” Advertisers can use this data to reach travelers with real destinations and travel dates.

The ad business is now closer to marketing and loyalty

Expedia recently moved its advertising business into its global marketing organization. This is important because marketing also manages customer data, loyalty, brand campaigns, and audience insights. Connecting these teams could help Expedia build more targeted campaigns for advertisers.

Expedia’s advertising revenue is growing

Expedia Group Advertising generated $197 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, up 13 percent year over year. During the same period, Expedia’s gross bookings reached $35.5 billion, also up 13 percent.

Those numbers explain why the company is giving advertising more attention. Expedia’s large booking volume gives it useful travel data. Its ad business gives it another way to monetize that data with partners, beyond earning commissions from travel bookings.

Expedia’s latest leadership move follows a broader push to turn its travel data into a larger advertising business. The company is expanding its travel media network beyond traditional travel suppliers and is using trip-planning and booking signals to help advertisers reach people who are already close to travel decisions.

Photo by Piotr Stefański on Unsplash