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Vrbo’s Newest Intern (pt. 2) — by Kathryn Huff

As promised, I am following up on my summer as a Vrbo intern. I can’t believe how fast 11 weeks go by; it feels like I just got here! My internship far exceeded my expectations. Working with the local marketing team was insightful and developed my skills as a business person. I had much more exposure to business insights than I expected. Aside from the scope of my project, I attended weekly meetings for Creative Design sprints, Occupancy Trends, and Supply Growth Performance. My ability to understand the online travel industry holistically significantly impacted my project for marketing efforts within supply acquisition.

Be sure to catch pt. 1 of Kathryn’s two-part write-up about her internship at Vrbo. 

Knowing that marketing is a field that I am interested in, I intentionally took Dr. Mirabito’s marketing class in the spring before my internship. The curriculum included identifying target audiences and perceptual mapping. Gaining these skills gave me the tools to create native content campaigns that spoke directly to our desired audience and addressed our competitive advantage over competitors.

Baylor MBA takes 1st Place at Iowa State’s Ivy MBA 2019 case competition.

To date, being apart of the MBA’s case competition team has been my most significant experience with the MBA program. Working with Dr. Norman and my teammates on real business problems under intense deadlines strengthened my ability to analyze information to identify possible solutions and then formulate and articulate recommendations. I found myself utilizing these same skills when delivering my final presentation to Vrbo management. Based on my experiences, I highly recommend you try out for the team!

Before you start your internship, I recommend choosing your classes in the spring in the disciplines you would like to beef up. By doing this, you will get to use these skills in your internship and make for a more fruitful experience. In the Internship class, you are required to conduct an industry analysis. I would recommend doing this before starting your internship- it will give you depth in your industry, and that will set you apart from the rest!

On the scene at Vrbo’s new HQ!

Expedia Group–Vrbo’s parent company–has been expanding by acquiring multiple start-ups and I find the process of determining which firms to purchase to be incredibly exciting. So much so, that I am taking a special studies class in the fall to further study and understand this process. 

After my internship experience, I am hoping this opportunity will turn into a full-time offer. I’ve now written this down and sent it out into the universe!

For now, I am looking forward to returning to Baylor for my final semester. One last first week, one last homecoming, one last opportunity to create memories with my incredible cohort. Baylor is a special place, and I will cherish each day in my final semester before I walk the stage for what my parents hope is the last time J.

I guess I won’t tell them I have been looking at corporate strategy doctoral programs.

Be sure to catch pt. 1 of Kathryn’s two-part write-up about her internship at Vrbo. 

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