Expedia to set up its largest APAC R and D centre in Gurgaon, to hire 200 people

US-based online travel company Expedia Inc, which runs Expedia.co.in in India, is setting up a research and development (R&D) centre in Gurgaon, India. The company has reportedly taken 100 people on board and is looking to add another 200 in its ranks. Expedia claims that this R&D facility will be the biggest among online travel companies in India.

Among other online travel companies, Yatra.com has a similar facility in Hyderabad with around 35 employees. MakeMyTrip and Cleartrip.com call it product and innovation team which is a separate department to develop technologies and applications.

For Expedia, this will be its largest R&D centre in the Asia-Pacific region followed by Singapore and Beijing in China. The centre will be an integral part of its global research teams and address technological problems world-over. However, the main task is to develop supply solutions in order to leverage the global footprint of Expedia in India.

"It is a strategic investment which will help us grow our business in India. We are investing millions of dollars into this venture. We believe that to be a great global company, we have to be a great local company. For our technology centre in India, we will be hiring Indian talent, from senior leadership team to the engineers," said Edmond Mesrobian, Chief Technology Officer, Expedia.

"We are very soon going to launch the new version of airline bookings on our website. It provides us a foot in the door opportunity to secure a customer to try other products too," said Vikram Malhi, Country Head, Expedia India.