When Lawrence Phillips set out to create Green Book Global, he wanted a platform that would increase confidence and reduce anxiety for Black travelers.
After working with Accenture for eight years, Phillips shared how he felt burned out and needed a mental health break filled with traveling. During the 2023 AFROTECH™ Conference, the founder and CEO recalled his experience of traveling to over 30 countries across all seven continents, sparking his drive to create his travel review site.
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“It was really that in-depth travel experience as a Black traveler,” Phillips said during a panel titled “Black and Well-Traveled: Centering Black Travelers Through Technology, Presented By Expedia Group.” “I was going to certain places like, ‘Oh shoot, should I go here? I don’t really know.’ You ask that question, ‘Is it good for us?’ I would go to blog here or there, and you might have one person say [something], but… I want to see multiple people give their opinions about what it’s like traveling while Black. So that’s kind of where the idea came from for Green Book Global.”
Following Green Book Global’s launch, the company became a part of Expedia Group’s Open World Accelerator program. The program supports startups and small businesses by “leveraging Expedia technology and expertise to accelerate their growth,” Alexandra Legend Siegel, who served as vice president of global inclusion and diversity talent at Expedia Group at the time, shared during the panel.
“We take any business in the world that wants to use our technology and travel and tools to make themselves better or to bring something unique to their audience and we help power those businesses,” said Clayton Nelson, vice president of strategic partnerships at Expedia Group, during the panel. “Lawrence is one of our partners that we work with, and we’re really proud to support him.”
To further Green Book Global’s efforts in making the travel industry more inclusive and safe for Black travelers, Phillips explained why he wants technology to lead it.
“With Green Book Global, we want to be everything to a Black traveler so we want to get travel advisors on there and talk about Black-owned businesses on there — Black-owned hotels on there,” Phillips said during the panel. “That’s our ultimate goal. We want other Black tech companies on there. What I learned about Expedia is they’re a tech company that does travel, in my opinion, because their technology is at the forefront of what they do. And so even for Green Book Global, we want our technology to be at the forefront for what we do as well, but to help Black-owned businesses where they are, in the tech field or restaurants, to be more successful and empowered.”
Watch this session and more by checking out AFROTECH™ Labs.
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