Steve Hafner’s 22-Year Run at Kayak: Skift Timeline

Over the course of a 22-year career as CEO of Kayak, Steve Hafner helped spearhead the evolution of online travel, and wasn’t afraid of taking risks.

In addition to acquiring a series of rivals along the way, Hafner tested Kayak as a hotel brand, experimented with bookings on Kayak, launched a business travel product, and even contemplated taking the company private.

Hafner was always known for extreme candor.

In May 2024, Hafner claimed Kayak was better than Google. “It’s never been about being bigger than Google. It’s about being better than Google,” Hafner said. “And we are better than Google… If you come and do a search on Kayak as a consumer, you’re gonna get better search results than you are on Google — more options, better prices, more accuracy.”

At Skift events, Hafner kept his communications team on edge: He was freewheeling and would field any question.

Following are some of Hafner and Kayak’s milestones since