Traci Mercer

Chief Commercial Officer
Priceline

2026 Phocuswright Conference speaker

Traci Mercer Chief Commercial Officer
Traci Mercer serves as Chief Commercial Officer at Priceline, overseeing all commercial operations across the company’s travel verticals. She leads the partner relationships and supply strategies that deliver exceptional value and choice to Priceline customers.

Since joining Priceline in 2023 as Senior Vice President of Accommodations and progressively taking on broader commercial responsibilities, Traci has helped shape a more unified and agile commercial organization. Her leadership has strengthened partner engagement, elevated commercial performance, and advanced multi-brand initiatives that enhance the travel experience across the broader Booking Holdings ecosystem. She led the integration of multiple Accommodations sales teams into a single high-performing organization and supported a group-wide air platform and contracting model that improved operational consistency and expanded value for travelers.

Before Priceline, Traci held senior executive roles at Sabre, Hootsuite, and Expedia Group, after beginning her career in operational and property-level roles with Hilton Hotels. She has lived and worked in the United States, Canada, and Singapore, leading globally distributed teams. Her leadership and influence have been recognized globally, including honors such as Technology Magazine’s Top 100 Women in Technology, GBTA’s Top 50 Women in Travel and the National Diversity and Leadership Council’s Most Powerful Women in Tech.

An avid traveler, she enjoys exploring new destinations with her husband and their dogs and is an active animal rescue volunteer. She resides in the Greater Seattle area.

Sessions

Thursday, November 19, 2026
8:00 AM – 8:45 AM EST

Pressure into Power: Leading AI When Everyone Says They’re Ready

The tools are everywhere. The transformation isn’t. Access to AI has surged, budgets are increasing and confidence is high, yet most workers who have the tools barely use them and most companies are bolting AI onto old workflows instead of redesigning around it. The gap between what leaders say about AI and what’s happening on the ground has never been wider. This working roundtable closes that gap through candid small-group conversation instead of another panel of success stories. Including fresh data from Phocuswright’s “Rebuilt or Bolted On: Travel's Agentic AI Divide” research and cross-industry benchmarks, this session will be run under Chatham House rules so leaders and participants can speak plainly. Each table takes on one dimension of the AI leadership challenge led by a mentor who provokes rather than presents. The session opens with a leadership reality check that frames three tensions every leader is navigating including: confidence vs. candor, speed vs. trust, adoption vs. transformation , and puts one question to the room: what does AI require me to do differently as a leader? The room then reconvenes to surface where we disagree and what we’re doing differently come Monday. Key areas of discussion:Culture & the Say-Do GapROI & MeasurementGovernance & AccountabilityLeading Human-AI TeamsCustomer Experience & TrustTalent & the PipelineThis session is built for the executives, founders, operators and curious people ready for a real conversation about leading through the transformation.We’re seeking experienced executives, founders, and industry innovators to serve as leaders and facilitators at small group tables. Click here to apply!

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