Tripadvisor seeks to create a competitive advantage by using Snowflake technology as a platform to launch innovative data-driven products for its customers.

Rahul Todkar, Head of Data and AI at Tripadvisor, spoke to diginomica about how the Snowflake AI Data Cloud for Travel & Hospitality helps his company unify enterprise insights and analytics across product, marketing, customers and financial operations:

We had over 10,000 data pipelines and 30,000-40,000 datasets. Things were getting out of control. We had a massive data footprint, which we needed to streamline, organize, structure and streamline into a well-thought-out scheme.

Todkar joined Tripadvisor in January 2023, after holding senior roles at LinkedIn and Charles Schwab. The decision to implement Snowflake predates its arrival. However, he says Tripadvisor has a proven formula for selecting partners:

Regardless of the technology, we study the entire industry and explore the best solutions that meet our needs. We typically use a proof-of-concept process to determine which solution can work in a defined use case, and then extend it.

The travel specialist was looking for service redundancy and a way to protect its data from accidental deletion. He claims that Snowflake enables secure data sharing across multiple business units and geographies, as well as external partners within the broader travel ecosystem:

As a company, we always attach great importance to data privacy, especially in the EU, as we have a strong presence in the European market. We looked at other options. But we tried Snowflake for data redundancy, protection and privacy. It was a big success and we loved it. We then began growing this footprint and using Snowflake for our other use cases.

Offer big benefits

Todkar says his role allows him to have an overview of potential suppliers, partners and platforms in the market. According to him, modern businesses face a complex and growing data ecosystem. One way to manage this complexity is to work with a minimal number of trusted partners across a large number of areas:

I’m very supportive of having fewer data partners that can multitask: “If we have a solution, can we do multiple things with this partner?” The main concern is to ensure that all our data is in one place and that the platform has built-in features for reliability, quality, monitoring and maintenance upgrades.

Todkar says the Snowflake platform gives his company “massive consolidation.” Snowflake helped Tripadvisor streamline operations and open new avenues for growth and partnerships. The result is less time spent on IT support issues and more time spent creating value:

Before Snowflake, we had to do a lot of maintenance and software upgrades. There were so many things we had to do. Using Snowflake makes everything much easier.

Finally, Snowflake cloud technology forms the basis for Tripadvisor to explore emerging areas, such as generative AI. Todkar says the platform makes it much easier to get new ideas into production and to market quickly:

We now have this database. So for any application or new use case we want to launch, the time to realize the business benefits has decreased with Snowflake.

Overcoming transformation challenges

Todkar says he has overseen several data transformation journeys during his career. The biggest challenges tend to be cultural. He says executive buy-in is critical to the success of any data project, and it’s a priority at Tripadvisor:

The tone is set by our CEO Matt Goldberg and our leadership team, where we have stated that data is our competitive advantage. When you have that level of conviction and strong leadership buy-in to the data, everything – the mission and vision around what you’re trying to do – becomes easy from a cultural perspective.

He says that companies implementing their data vision operationally must ensure that the company’s employees understand the benefits that will result:

Follow it as a process in which this understanding – making data a top priority, what that means, and how you think about consolidation – is approached and then driven as a massive handoff project.

Todkar says the training process associated with a new cloud-based data platform takes time, but high-level support is critical to success, as is the ability to ensure technology challenges are mastered. Once again, consolidation on a platform like Snowflake is essential:

On the technology side, I would say a very important thing is to designate certain suppliers as foundational partners. If you talk to an engineer, you will tend to explore different solutions and options. But the more you can crystallize or standardize your strategy across fewer key partners, the better.

Adopt Generative AI

Tripadvisor continues to look for new ways to leverage Snowflake. Todkar is excited about the tech company’s rapid development of new AI capabilities. In particular, he highlights the release of Cortex, a suite of AI capabilities that use Large Language Models (LLM) to help businesses create generative AI applications:

We can’t wait to try these tools. Cortex is definitely one we have in mind to try and use more of. Anytime you can democratize access to data, it’s a huge step forward for everyone in the organization. We are therefore studying this opportunity.

He says the company is also curious to leverage features related to data quality monitoring, as this area is “very important.” The long-term goal is to use the Snowflake platform and a range of technologies to adopt emerging technologies:

We are investigating an expanded set of capabilities to help prototype AI applications more quickly. There are many areas where these models will be very useful.

Tripadvisor has already launched generative AI use cases in production, including the company’s Trip Planning tool. The tool uses LLMs and generative AI to make personalized suggestions to travelers. The technology stack that powers this tool leverages a range of systems and services and provides users with personalized travel guidance:

The stack involves Snowflake, Open AI models, and internal models. We bundle this technology into solutions including travel planning powered by generative AI. The success of this technology depends not just on the number, but also on the relevance of these recommendations and how that translates into our engagement and revenue metrics.