Skift Take
Does anyone remember when Travelocity was the leading U.S. online travel agency? We're thinking about that because a milestone may have taken place in the first quarter when Airbnb attracted more room nights booked than did Expedia. What it does clearly show is that the online travel pecking order is very much in flux.
It's time to retire the notion of an Expedia-Booking Holdings online travel duopoly in the United States, or even a triumvirate, including Ctrip, globally.
Airbnb's first quarter financial results, which the Wall Street Journal recently reported, show that with $9.4 billion in gross bookings, there is clearly now a quartet of online travel leaders. (For a look at Airbnb's first quarter financials compared with leading online travel players around the world, see the chart below.)
If, in fact, the report about Airbnb's financials is true, then the homesharing company notched considerably more booked room nights than did Expedia, 91 million for Airbnb versus 80.8 million for Expedia, in the first three months of 2019. That's a differential of 10.2 million room nights in favor of Airbnb over Expedia. The Wall Street Journal cited multiple people familiar with Airbnb's finances as the source for the first quarter numbers.
Booking Holdings, however, with its mix of hotels and alternative accommodations outpaced all competitors with 217 million room nights in the first quarter.
It isn't known whether the first quarter was the initial time Airbnb bested Expedia in room nights. Airbnb declined to comment on its financials, and Expedia didn't respond to a request for comment.
When it comes to gross bookings, Airbnb ($9.4 billion) is well behind Expedia Group ($29.4 billion) and Booking Holdings ($25.4 billion). But gross bookings also include Expedia and Booking's airline and cruise sales, for example, which
