# Steve Hafner

> Steve Hafner is co-founder and CEO of Lola and executive chair of KAYAK. A member of the early Orbitz team, he co-founded KAYAK with Paul English in 2004 and led it for 22 years, including its public listing and acquisition by Priceline. In 2026, he reunited with English to build a Booking Holdings-backed AI assistant for experiences.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Lola; Executive Chair at KAYAK
- **Organizations:** Lola, KAYAK, Booking Holdings, Orbitz, OpenTable, Boston Consulting Group
- **From:** Lima, Peru
- **Nationality:** Swedish-American
- **Education:** BA; studied economics and history, Dartmouth College, MBA, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Co-founded KAYAK and led it for 22 years., Led KAYAK through its 2012 IPO and 2013 acquisition by Priceline, recorded at a $2.1 billion purchase value., Helped establish and launch Orbitz.

## Career timeline

- **1991** — Graduated from Dartmouth College.
- **1997** — Completed an MBA at Kellogg.
- **2001** — Part of the founding team behind the launch of Orbitz.
- **2003** — Left Orbitz.
- **2004** — Co-founded KAYAK with Paul English and became CEO.
- **2012** — KAYAK went public in July; Priceline announced its acquisition agreement in November.
- **2013** — Priceline completed its acquisition of KAYAK on May 21; Hafner remained CEO.
- **2023** — Inducted into the inaugural Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.
- **2026-02** — Became KAYAK executive chair as Peer Bueller succeeded him as CEO.
- **2026-09** — Lola debuted its AI experiences assistant and memberships, with Hafner as co-founder and CEO.

## Achievements

- Co-founded KAYAK and led it for 22 years.
- Led KAYAK through its 2012 IPO and 2013 acquisition by Priceline, recorded at a $2.1 billion purchase value.
- Helped establish and launch Orbitz.
- Inaugural inductee into the Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame in 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Explained that Lola was prioritizing experiences in home markets; hotels and restaurants were available, while experiences, flights and car rentals formed part of the roadmap.
- **2026-09** — Lola introduced free, Plus and VIP memberships and announced its partnership with Ten Group.
- **2026-02** — Moved from KAYAK CEO to executive chair and an AI-focused leadership assignment at Booking Holdings.

## Links

- Website: https://lola.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-hafner-288960
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/shafner

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/steve-hafner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25