Expedia News

As companies come to embrace online booking tools for business travel, traditional travel management companies will face steeper competition from companies like Egencia that bring more robust technology tools to corporate travel.

One of the reasons HomeAway thought it would be in its interests to get acquired is that it faced substantial risks in transitioning to an online bookable platform and tacking on a fee that travelers have to pay. Now it has Expedia's marketing muscle and tech skills to support all the changes, and a tested product official to help lead the effort.

When it comes to Marriott and Hilton pushing customers to book directly on their own websites, hell hath no fury like an online travel agency scorned. This could eventually get rough.

Expedia seems to be on a sensible course in 2016 as it seeks to make good on its 2015 buying binge. Acquisitions are the sexy part; now Expedia has to make the marriages work behind closed doors.

Expedia's moves to lower commissions, tack on a tactical bidding program for hotel displays, and make itself friendlier to hotels and consumers by offering a pay-at-the-hotel option are all designed to ramp up Expedia's business and to make Booking.com's so-called "competitive moat" a little less imposing.

Big hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton, with their ample marketing and advertising budgets, can scoff all they want about Expedia and Booking.com pay-to play programs for sort-order preference as the chains push direct bookings on their own sites. But small chains and independents will likely use the programs, seeking any small advantage they can wrangle.

Imagine if Expedia and Priceline saw selling flights as an increasingly important part of their business and started offering airline IT solutions. That's what they and Trivago are essentially doing on the hotel side of the ledger, embedding themselves as hotel-technology providers. Now it has become a downright trend.

Priceline's and Expedia's respective selling and marketing spend on a global scale shows why Priceline remains on top despite all of Expedia's acquisitions. Priceline does it much more efficiently, getting a lot more bang for a buck.

Priceline's CEO says its "competitive moat is deep and wide." His counterpart at Expedia believes his company needs to get more international. And TripAdvisor's new CFO says it has ample resources for acquisitions. This all should make for an interesting 2016.

Expedia's acquisitions versus the Priceline Group's "competitive moat." Rock, paper, scissors. It's an interesting contest and in the $1.4 trillion global travel market, both companies can be winners. Expedia is trending upward and Priceline is showing strong growth, as well.