The best technology comes from collaboration. Much as we like the image of a lone genius toiling away at their desk, in our world – the world of travel tech – it's all about a combination of internal teamwork and closely understanding our partners' businesses. That means constant collaboration to make sure that everything we do helps our partners to grow.
That's why we launched two initiatives to bring our partners together. We’ve been holding EPS Think Tank events in different locations to bring together partners and EPS product experts in different regions around the world.
EPS Think Tanks: Meet the experts and other partners
The key principle of EPS Think Tanks is simple: finding out from you how we can best help you grow. The events are an opportunity for partners to feedback their experience with our offerings, to discuss ideas for future developments and to get an in-depth view on what we're working on, as well as input into how it may look.
We held our first Think Tank in London in October 2017 and we've since held three more in locations around the world, bringing together 21 different partners.
We thank EPS for the opportunity to join in its first USA-based product Think Tank. I believe knowing early what EPS products are being strategized, developed and introduced – and allowing us to shape these products with our feedback, insights and perspectives – provides huge advantages to both companies.
Jason Hodge, Director of Product and Business Development, Quality Reward Travel
What to expect from EPS Think Tanks
We cover specific topics in depth; at our two London events we've covered geography capabilities, supply rate types, vacation rentals and future development of our still-new travel API, EPS Rapid. In Seattle we discussed fraud detection and notification API services, and in Dubai we looked at how we could partner with data through partner apps.
We also allow for a ‘magic wand’ session. This gives partners the chance to ask and raise any idea or suggestion that they’d like to see us focus on.
You can expect talks from EPS product experts, SME experts from the rest of Expedia Group, and a chance to meet and network with other partners in a range of specialisms, from online travel agencies (OTAs) to B2B agents and airlines.
EPS partners gather at a previous Think Tank event
Want to join us at a Think Tank?
If you're already a partner, get in touch with your Account Manager to find out about upcoming Think Tank events. You can also follow us on Twitter, to get an idea of what to expect from EPS events:
The Think Tank was a great opportunity to share ideas and hear how our travel peers overcome similar issues. We rarely have the opportunity to sit with competitors and discuss our pain points in a neutral environment. It was also great to have a sneak peak of upcoming EPS products – looking forward to what's coming next.
Louise Blake, Head of Data, Tajawal
EPS Ideas: Helping us help you
EPS Ideas is our online community forum, where EPS partners can talk directly to our product teams. You can ask questions, submit ideas, see those of other partners and vote on them. So it's not only a chance for you to influence what we're building, but also to get inspiration from other businesses like yours.
Each month you'll find a focus on a different product-related topic where we ask for your feedback and input – last month we discussed geography and inventory use, and in July we're looking for your ideas and feedback on our new partner reporting tool.
It's not just about us keeping our partners up-to-date on developments; we're also connecting our partner community. So you can see how other partners are using EPS products and get ideas for your own customizations and functionality – that could mean discovering innovations that you just hadn't thought of and implementing them right now, or talking to us about what you'd like to see next.
You can access EPS Ideas with your EPS Service Desk account if you're already a partner. If you're not yet an EPS partner but you're interested in finding out more, get in touch with us.