Dara Khosrowshahi

Yes, yes. I mean, what could be more material than September 11th for travel?

Yeah, we didn't. And we knew we had the option to get out.

Yeah, we didn't. And we knew we had the option to get out.

And at the time, one of the values of an option is time value, right? You don't want to exercise an option before the last moment that you can. And Rich called, I think, Barry at the time. And he said, listen, September 11th happened. Business obviously has fallen off cliff. We think it'll come back, but I don't know.

And at the time, one of the values of an option is time value, right? You don't want to exercise an option before the last moment that you can. And Rich called, I think, Barry at the time. And he said, listen, September 11th happened. Business obviously has fallen off cliff. We think it'll come back, but I don't know.

And he said, the place is pretty unstable now because no one knows whether the deal is going to go through or not go through. There's this Mac clause. So if you want to get out, it's fine. Rich is very confident. He's a great entrepreneur. It's fine if you want to get out, but just let us know. You know, which way you want to go. God, he's good. And he's really good.

And he said, the place is pretty unstable now because no one knows whether the deal is going to go through or not go through. There's this Mac clause. So if you want to get out, it's fine. Rich is very confident. He's a great entrepreneur. It's fine if you want to get out, but just let us know. You know, which way you want to go. God, he's good. And he's really good.

I do. I can't imagine that if you're at the company, everyone's like, what's happening, right? There's a future. Companies thrive on certainty, on kind of rhythm, et cetera. And it was a tough macro position to be in. And then the micro position of what's going to happen at Expedia. So I can imagine what he was going through.

I do. I can't imagine that if you're at the company, everyone's like, what's happening, right? There's a future. Companies thrive on certainty, on kind of rhythm, et cetera. And it was a tough macro position to be in. And then the micro position of what's going to happen at Expedia. So I can imagine what he was going through.

So we got together as a team, the IAC team, and all of us were kind of talking. And, you know, there's no clear decision to be made there. But Barry respected what Rich asked for. And I remember the meeting, we're like having all these debates. And I think it was Barry who said it. He said, you know, if there isn't travel, there isn't life. So like, you know, everyone like looked at each other.

So we got together as a team, the IAC team, and all of us were kind of talking. And, you know, there's no clear decision to be made there. But Barry respected what Rich asked for. And I remember the meeting, we're like having all these debates. And I think it was Barry who said it. He said, you know, if there isn't travel, there isn't life. So like, you know, everyone like looked at each other.

We're like, let's go for this. Let's do it. And right after that meeting, Barry called Rich and said, game on.

We're like, let's go for this. Let's do it. And right after that meeting, Barry called Rich and said, game on.

It's like, we're going to do this. But Barry, his passion is travel, right? And I think he was right, which is just when you're in the center of the storm, it looks like, oh my God, life is going to be over. But things revert to norm. I mean, you look at like the pandemic and everyone's looking for all these long-term changes and everything reverts to norm.

It's like, we're going to do this. But Barry, his passion is travel, right? And I think he was right, which is just when you're in the center of the storm, it looks like, oh my God, life is going to be over. But things revert to norm. I mean, you look at like the pandemic and everyone's looking for all these long-term changes and everything reverts to norm.

And I think that was the wisdom at the time, although when you're in the middle of... It sure doesn't feel calm. But after that, we said we're in. It got Rich the stability that he wanted. And in hindsight, it was a genius decision.

And I think that was the wisdom at the time, although when you're in the middle of... It sure doesn't feel calm. But after that, we said we're in. It got Rich the stability that he wanted. And in hindsight, it was a genius decision.

No, and I like this one to be finally the last one. Never want to go through something like that again. But it made us strong as a company. Ultimately, good for Uber the past couple of years. Yeah, I think the pandemic was incredibly painful in that sitting together as a team, 85% of your mobility volume, which was the profit driver of the company, falls off a cliff. And...

No, and I like this one to be finally the last one. Never want to go through something like that again. But it made us strong as a company. Ultimately, good for Uber the past couple of years. Yeah, I think the pandemic was incredibly painful in that sitting together as a team, 85% of your mobility volume, which was the profit driver of the company, falls off a cliff. And...

Other CEOs, you know, they lost a ton of business, but most of these businesses were profitable. We were losing $2.5 billion, and then it just got way worse. So it was a very tough situation to be in, and we had to cut a lot of overhead. We had to cut out businesses that we thought were core to the business. You really had to bet on what's core, what's non-core.