Having a United States passport has been an incredible asset, and I hope that will continue to be the case.
— Dara Khosrowshahi
The American dream is you come here, you believe in democracy, you believe in the Constitution, you work hard, you can make it.
What some Americans don't appreciate is how strong the brand of the American Dream is around the world. I'm an example of how powerful that product is.
I love Expedia.
The power of immigration, the power of the American dream, if you think about the American dream, it is the best brand out there.
One of the early lessons that I learned in leadership is that it's the leader's job to always go against the flow.
Alternative accommodations is a $100 billion-plus category.
Consumers may put off buying a car, but they don't put off buying a vacation.
I think a lot of Americans don't appreciate just what an incredible country this is, how lucky they are, how safe they are, how empowered they are.
If you get the product and technology right, then the rest usually falls into place.
Desperation sometimes drives innovation.
When you see the sacrifices that your parents make for you, you want to do well for them.
My family emigrated to the U.S. after the Iranian revolution in 1978.
I started in investment banking at Allen & Company in 1991. It was the go-go days of media mergers, and we were incredibly busy with one deal after another. Unlike typical investment banking groups, even in the midst of merger mania, we didn't have a formal face-time culture - and I felt empowered by that.
We sure didn't feel like refugees, but in hindsight, I guess we were - my father and mother left everything behind to come here - to be safe and give their boys a chance to rebuild a life.
When you go to a voice-based interaction, you can't tell people, 'Ask me this question and structure it in this way.' And if they ask a question, and you have a bad answer, first time, maybe they'll be okay with it. Third time, they're going to say, 'This is a complete waste of time. I'm going away.'
Traveloka is the clear online travel leader in Indonesia and is expanding aggressively throughout Southeast Asia.
As the perception of the United States as a welcoming place for all changes among travelers globally, the country's tourism market, which is a huge revenue generator for the economy, could get hurt.
My wife and I got married on 12/12/12 in Las Vegas, and she was wearing a Slayer T-shirt. That tells you what kind of woman I'm lucky enough to be with.
Taking big risks combined with having a team you believe in and that believes just as much in you as a leader make for long-term wins, even in a game of inches.
It's definitely a problem inside the technology industry - not just gender discrimination. Diversity is an issue within technology, within Expedia.
My family had to flee Iran... the revolution, and we were very, very lucky to come to America and have opportunities presented to us. And that's... one of the things that makes America great.
As companies get bigger, they tend to slow down. It's a universal law.
Rail in Europe is incredibly important as far as a transportation medium.
We found that travel, especially online travel, has been quite resistant to economic cycles.
I think that, in the end, the consumer's going to win on the Internet.
Anytime you introduce volatility, it is not good for business and not good for travel.
I thought all those channels on cable TV were really cool.
Failure can teach you something, and as long as you're moving very, very quickly, you're going to start piling up the wins. Speed gives you the luxury to be able to fail.
We don't believe in a world of us versus them; we look at the world as all of us together.
When I was in my 20s, I learned not only how to work hard but about the importance of focus.
Put the right people in the right places, and then you trust them to do the right stuff.
As we move over to more of a mobile device-centric world... I think the interaction model with devices is going to be much more voice-based.
While Expedia is outbound-focused, Wotif is much more about domestic travel.
Companies don't like uncertainty; travelers don't like uncertainty.
My father had to go back to Iran to take care of his father when I was 13 and was detained for six years before returning. My mom was raising three kids without a dad.
A CEO of a multinational global company can't say what to do; you've got to plant the flag.
Uber is a company that is redefining the transportation industry on a global basis; to be part of that story is something that is interesting and would be a real privilege.
There's a lot of distrust of the United States, and I certainly see that. But at the same time, everything that I've seen is that the U.S. is a genuine force for good in the world.
There's simply no better company out there doing mobile travel apps with the same level of design sensibility and utility as Mobiata.
Where people work and their environment is becoming more and more important, especially for millennials.
I think my background, coming from Iran, which is a great country but is going through its share of troubles, really allows me to appreciate what we have here.
I think from a personal standpoint, maybe I appreciate a little more that there are two sides to every story, and the way that the U.S. is sometimes is viewed outside of the U.S. can be pretty tough, depending on what the U.S.'s actions are.
It is important to have safe borders, but at the same time, we can't forget what brought us here. This is an immigrant nation.
Chinese consumers don't book hotel rooms that are as expensive as U.S. consumers.
You have to empower your employees to make their own choices and trust that they will make the right choices.
I think where Trump just has it dead wrong is this is a world of us versus them.
I remember my father taking us to meeting with lawyers, interviews with immigration officers, doing everything he could to get us that treasured Green Card - and the happiness, the sense of relief, when he finally did - we knew that we were welcome now, and we would be welcome tomorrow.
If you don't optimize for the consumer on the Internet, you're dead.
When you let travelers vote with their clicks, and you put that at the center of your decision-making, you build the product they want, and ultimately, their business will follow.
