Expedia opens R&D centre in India, to hire 300 people by year-end

Online travel agency Expedia is setting up a research & development centre in Gurgaon as part of its overall expansion plan in the country. The company will also hire 300 people by year-end to ramp up its India operations.

Edmond Mesrobian, chief technology officer of Expedia, Inc., said, "India is of strategic importance to us and offers us access to a pool of technology talent. We are bullish on the long-term potential of the market and are expecting to hire 300 resources before the end of the year. "

The new development centre will be instrumental in creating travel apps for both local and global markets. With this initiative in place, India will be the only other location besides Bellevue (US) where the Expedia Group will work on solutions across all brands and platforms.

Vikram Malhi, the India head of the OTA, said, "Expedia has seen tremendous success in the Indian market over the last three years. The new technology centre being set up in Gurgaon will be the platform for taking our engagement in the Indian market to the next level."

The company will be simultaneously hiring employees for sales & marketing, R&D and travel supply support services.

The Expedia Group has an extensive brand portfolio, including some of the leading online travel brands such as Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire and Egencia, among others. The group delivers consumer travel demand from almost every continent to nearly 1,55,000 hotels and hundreds of airlines, tour operators and car rental companies.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)