Expedia promotes Lavinia Rajaram to Asia-wide group-level PR role

Expedia Group has promoted Lavinia Rajaram (pictured) to Asia head of PR for Expedia Group brands, such as Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO. She was formerly APAC head of communications for the Expedia brand for two and a half years. Prior to that, she was regional head of communications, Asia for three years. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Expedia Group for comment.

Before joining Expedia Group in 2016, Rajaram was regional marketing and corporate communications manager at Dentsu Aegis Network (now known as dentsu international), where she developed and supported all internal and external communications strategy for the network in the region; according to her LinkedIn. She was also direct counsel for the chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network SEA, the regional leadership team, and country heads for 58 Dentsu Aegis branded agencies in Southeast Asia.

In addition to managing and executing communications and branding strategies for mergers and acquisitions of agencies across the region, Rajaram was also tasked with thought leader positioning for regional leaders on media and speaking opportunities. Other responsibilities include planning and implementing holistic and sustainable 360-degree integrated media and marketing communications strategies and campaigns that support the network's goals and mission for the region.

Prior to that, Rajaram worked as communications and community affairs manager at Microsoft Singapore, as stated on her LinkedIn. During her time there, she was communications counsel to the senior leadership team and was tasked with leading and deploying corporate, consumer and public sector programmes for Microsoft in Singapore. 

According to Rajaram's LinkedIn, her other responsibilities included driving quarterly dialogues with heads of NGOs in Singapore; managing media engagements for key Microsoft Corporation visiting executives to Singapore; and leading, planning and executing the yearly fundraiser in support of Singapore’s President’s Challenge - an annual community outreach and fundraising campaign. 

Before moving to Singapore, Rajaram was a PR specialist at Microsoft Malaysia. According to her LinkedIn, she was also a consultant at Weber Shandwick and a global infrastructure IT reporting coordinator at Shell during her time in Malaysia. 

Separately, Expedia witnessed a positive but small increase in the volume of searches for hotels last month, especially for trips to Genting, Langkawi, Melaka and Tioman, following the announcement of travel bubbles to these destinations. As compared to before, Rajaram said searches for these destinations on the website - as of 29 September 2021 - has grown by 20%, with Langkawi carrying the highest percentage (80%) among the other destinations.

Similarly, August saw searches from Singapore to destinations in Germany grow close to 10 times compared to the average of the seven days prior, after a vaccinated travel lane between the two countries was announced on 19 August. As of 10 am on 20 August 2021, searches for flights to Germany increased sixfold on the Expedia platform, compared to the previous day. While Singapore was never a top 10 leisure destination for German travellers, Expedia also saw interest in travel to Singapore from Frankfurt and Munich jump by 70% within 24 hours after the announcement.

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