Airbnb Corp. Travel Pioneer to Lead Serko SME Expansion Efforts

David Holyoke, who for the past several years has led the corporate travel side of Airbnb, soon will join booking and expense platform Serko as head of unmanaged travel, the company announced.

In his new role, which begins July 1, Holyoke will lead Serko’s efforts to expand its reach in the small and midsized travel market. That will include “strengthening partnerships” such as Serko’s collaboration with Booking.com for Booking.com for Business, which uses Serko’s Zeno travel management software.

Serko reports more than 640,000 companies have signed up to use Booking.com for Business and accounted for 2.5 million booked room nights in Serko’s most recent fiscal year. The company recently announced a five-year renewal of the Booking.com partnership.

“We have already achieved so much in bringing a leading SME travel product to market, highlighting the enormous potential ahead of us,” Serko CEO Darrin Grafton said in a statement. “David’s proven track record and expertise will be incredibly valuable in unlocking that opportunity.”

Holyoke has worked at Airbnb since late 2016, most recently as head of commercial strategy. He was a key player in developing the company’s strategy in penetrating the business travel market, including acting as founding general manager for Airbnb for Work. Prior to that, he co-founded and lead Travel Leaders Corporate, which is now part of Altour.

“I see immense opportunity for Serko in the SME travel market,” Holyoke said in a statement. “The Booking.com for Business partnership has already demonstrated the power of using data and experimentation to create and deliver a winning user experience, which is crucial for scaling in this segment. I’m excited to help lead the efforts to take this offering to new heights.”