Opened the US Market Post-Pandemic

TL;DR

As travel reopened after the pandemic, I led Stayforlong's expansion into the US — a brand-new region for a European online travel platform. Within ~2 months it accounted for roughly 20% of company revenue.

Context

Stayforlong is a European online travel agency. Coming out of the pandemic, demand was rebounding fast and the US was a large, untapped market — but the product, supply, and go-to-market had all been built for European travelers.

Problem

• The experience, supply, and GTM were tuned for European markets.
• A new region meant new payment methods, currency, content, and customer expectations.
• The post-pandemic reopening was a narrow window — speed mattered more than a perfect rollout.
• Revenue had to come quickly to justify the expansion.

What I Did

1. Owned the launch end-to-end: I led the cross-functional effort to stand up the US market — product, localization, and go-to-market together.
2. Localized the experience: adapted the booking flow, payments, currency, and content for US travelers and US-relevant supply.
3. Sequenced for speed to revenue: prioritized the work that would unlock bookings fastest rather than a complete, perfect launch.
4. Validated in-market: measured early traction and doubled down on what actually converted.

Results

• A brand-new region became a fifth of company revenue in two months.
• Proved the platform could expand beyond Europe and gave the company a repeatable expansion playbook.

Lessons Learned

1. Timing is a feature. Launching into the reopening mattered as much as the execution — the window was open and we moved.
2. Localization is product, not translation. Payments, currency, supply, and expectations all differ; the flow has to feel native, not ported.
3. Sequence for revenue. In a new market, the fastest path to the first bookings tells you what to build next.