CFI.co Meets the CEO of eDreams ODIGEO: Dana Dunne

Pushing the mobile experience beyond bookings is the next frontier to be settled by the online travel industry. One of the first to stake a claim, eDreams ODIGEO is dedicating considerable effort to further improve and enhance the experience of mobile users and ensure connectivity at each stage of a traveller’s itinerary. “We strongly believe that the industry is nowhere near extracting the full potential of the medium. While the mobile Internet has been around for ten to fifteen years; we have only just begun mapping its possibilities,” says eDreams ODIGEO CEO Dana Dunne.

Mr Dunne was hired by the Barcelona-based company in 2012 as chief operating officer, after a successful career at AOL Europe and EasyJet. In early 2015, Mr Dunne replaced eDream ODIGEO founder Javier Pérez-Tenessa as CEO. He was charged with broaching new international markets and deepening the company’s presence in its multiple home markets. Unveiling a 6-point strategic plan aimed at taking eDreams ODIGEO to the new heights, Mr Dunne refocused the company to fully embrace mobile technology and commit additional resources to customer service.

“We are determined to offer a level of customer care second to none. In fact, everybody at eDreams ODIGEO, from developers working the back office to telephone operators interacting with clients, is aware of the need to ensure that our customers are fully satisfied. Collectively, we are pushing the boundaries on this front.” Mr Dunne points out that economies of scale tip the balance in the company’s favour. As one of the world’s largest online travel agencies, and Europe’s biggest flight retailer, we have the financial and technological wherewithal to develop innovative products and services and thus stay well ahead of the curve.

“eDreams ODIGEO boasts one of largest development teams of the industry. We can – and regularly do – put ten or more highly experienced engineers on an assignment to perfect or tweak a single minute feature of our platform. This ongoing quest for perfection results in a vastly enhanced user experience which, in turn, results in more business.”

Mr Dunne is optimistic and expects eDreams ODIGEO to keep increasing its market share: “More people move online each and every day. Also and increasingly, more people are comfortable conducting business over the Internet. With over seven billion people in the world, there remains plenty of room for the online space to grow.”
While Mr Dunne does not rule out any future acquisitions, he expects his company’s growth to be generated internally: “We are focused on building a great business with top-quality products and services. Since providing excellence in the delivery of customer service is key to our corporate well-being, we need to be careful in how we pursue growth in order to maintain the required level of overall quality.”

eDreams ODIGEO has established a well-earned reputation for the conservation of its multiple brands as premier providers of travel-related products and services. The company operates five strong brands in different markets. “These brands are well-established in their respective markets and maintain distinct identities, cultures, and meanings that evoke positive feelings and represent an optimum customer experience.”

More than just a multinational company with a presence in 44 markets, eDreams ODIGEO is a multicultural corporation: “We are a young and highly dynamic company and a role model on how to run a global corporation. We have professionals of forty different nationalities working at our Barcelona head office, all engaged in offering customers the best travel experience in the business. By being multicultural, rather than merely multinational, eDreams ODIGEO is able to offer the best products and services, irrespective of the market targeted.”