11.4.2024
Jeff Kim, Chief Strategy Officer at Yanolja and CEO of Yanolja Cloud, brings a wealth of experience in scaling technology companies. At Yanolja, he’s helping to lead a transformation in the travel and hospitality industries, leveraging the power of data and AI to create a more connected, efficient, and personalized travel experience. Well-known in Korea for its consumer-facing business, Yanolja is rapidly expanding its global presence as a B2B travel technology provider. The company offers comprehensive cloud-based solutions, including vertical AI, to automate and streamline operations for hotels, resorts, and other travel providers worldwide. Yanolja’s platform connects suppliers, sales channels, and consumers, creating a seamless data flow that empowers travel companies to enhance operational efficiency and drive revenue growth.
In this Spotlight Interview, Kim discusses the challenges facing the travel industry, Yanolja’s unique approach to solving these challenges, and his vision for the future of travel in an increasingly data-driven and AI-powered world. He delves into the importance of data quality and consistency in developing effective travel technology solutions and highlights Yanolja’s competitive advantages, including its extensive proprietary data lake and profitable B2B business model.
Your career includes notable experience with Google and McKinsey. How did those positions lead you to Yanolja and the travel sector?
My experiences at Google and McKinsey & Company were instrumental in shaping my career path. In both roles, I focused on supporting the transformation of smaller startups into leading global tech companies. I found a true passion in doing this, which is what ultimately led me to Yanolja and the travel sector. At Yanolja, I saw an innovative technology company with a strong foundation that could truly reshape the trillion-dollar travel industry. I joined the company in 2015 as the Chief Strategy Officer and in 2016 I took over as Chief Business Officer. Today, I serve as Chief Executive Officer of Yanolja Cloud and Yanolja Group CSO.
Tell us about Yanolja. The company is well known in Korea for its consumer-facing business. Can you speak to what you do at a global scale?
Yanolja has evolved from its roots as a market leader in Korea through our retail channels to become a leading global travel technology company offering comprehensive Vertical AI and data services and solutions to enhance experiences for both industry enterprises and travelers. While we’re known for our B2C services in Korea, our focus has expanded significantly on the global stage as we have transitioned to a global Vertical AI and data enablement platform. Today, we operate in over 200 countries, connecting more than 1.3 million enterprise customers worldwide. Our B2B business provides tailored solutions that drive efficiency and revenue for our customers and improve the quality of the traveler experience.
What are some of the challenges facing the travel industry that Yanolja aims to solve?
The travel ecosystem is extremely fragmented. At Yanolja, we aim to solve this by digitally connecting market players throughout the travel value chain to create consistency and streamline experiences for both industry enterprises and travelers. Our cloud software and connectivity services in particular automate suppliers’ travel operations, pulling the data they need automatically without loss. We’re also addressing the challenge of profitability in the industry. Our goal is to help travel-related businesses generate revenue by connecting data, improving data quality, and providing AI-driven services that foster efficiency and level the playing field for companies worldwide.
Who are your competitors? What does Yanolja provide that they can’t?
Yanolja is in a category of one. While we compete with various players in the travel technology space, what truly sets Yanolja apart is our emphasis on quality data-driven services, including Vertical AI. Leveraging our extensive proprietary data lake, Yanolja offers cutting-edge AI solutions that enable companies across the travel value chain to enhance operational efficiency and increase revenue. Unlike many of our competitors, we’re already well-equipped with an enormous customer base and massive access to owned data to create these solutions from and offer these solutions to. It’s the reason why we have continued to profit from our B2B business, different from the other technology companies in the same space. In Q2 2024, we saw adjusted EBITDA increase $30 million year-over-year, with a total adjusted EBITDA margin of 16%, seven points better than fiscal year 2023. By leveraging industry data from its global network of customers and suppliers, we have rapidly scaled our vertical AI and data business, increased our EBITDA margin, and significantly enhanced profitability.
What do you see as your biggest growth drivers going forward?
As we accelerate our global expansion, we’re excited by our enterprise business fueled by our innovative data and AI services. The travel industry is expected to continue growing meaningfully post-COVID-19, rising 9.7% annually according to various research reports. We’re well-positioned to capitalize on this growth through our global network of suppliers and sales channels.
Our focus on vertical AI and data solutions is key to this growth. Yanolja’s amount of data and Total Transaction Volume (TTV) is increasing significantly, growing 247% year-over-year in Q2 2024 to $5.3 billion, which enables our ability to provide more sophisticated AI and data-driven services, creating a virtuous cycle of improvement and expansion as we scale worldwide.
Can you talk more about the importance of data when it comes to developing your enterprise solutions?
Data is absolutely crucial to our enterprise Vertical AI-based solutions. In the travel industry, data is often fragmented and disconnected. At Yanolja, we harness the power of our connected platform to gather and leverage data, using it as the foundation of our enterprise solutions to enrich our advanced AI solutions.
This rich, consistent data coupled with our Vertical AI capabilities enable us to offer services like dynamic pricing, targeted digital marketing, and machine learning-based prediction business models, which are essential for our customers to maximize their efficiency and profitability. As I mentioned earlier, our access to this data, stemming from our TTV which has increased by nearly 2.5x year-over-year in Q2, coupled with our existing customer base allows us to achieve an exceptionally high contribution margin.
For years, technology has been transforming the way people travel. As AI and machine learning continue to play a larger role across industries, how do you expect it to impact the travel industry over time?
AI and Machine Learning are set to radically change the travel industry. At Yanolja, we’re at the forefront of these changes. For example, we’ve built our own Large Language Model (LLM), which has allowed us to develop internal tools specifically designed to enhance productivity in the travel sector. Within this, we’ve created a review analysis tool, a translation tool specialized for the travel sector, and an AI interface for hotel front desk operations.
The power of Vertical AI, fueled by our extensive proprietary data lake, allows us to build disruptive technology that truly adds value. We expect AI to continue revolutionizing areas like personalized travel recommendations, dynamic pricing, predictive maintenance for travel infrastructure, and enhanced customer service through AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants.
Younger generations are more interested in traveling than ever before. How can travel companies leverage technology to best take advantage of this trend?
It’s exciting to see younger generations embrace travel. As consumers raise their expectations in the digital age, travel companies should leverage technology to provide personalized, seamless, and data-driven experiences that resonate with the next generation. In addition, businesses should invest in technology that drives back- and front-of-house efficiencies to stay profitable and competitive in the crowded travel landscape.
Where do you see Yanolja in the next 5-10 years?
Yanolja will remain at the forefront of the travel industry’s digital transformation. As we continue to grow our global presence and enhance our Vertical AI and data-driven services, I anticipate Yanolja becoming an indispensable partner for travel companies worldwide. Our company will be hyper-connected to every market player through data and those market players will benefit from our differentiated AI services. In addition, we digitize operations for small- and medium travel companies, we will level the playing field and democratize the industry for more companies to take advantage of the travel boom. Lastly, we will have a meaningful impact on lowering carbon emissions associated with travel worldwide by optimizing and streamlining the travel journey from start to finish. By leveraging our extensive proprietary data lake and Vertical AI, we’ll enable companies across the travel value chain to enhance operational efficiency and increase revenue, ultimately connecting the world through global travel technology.