Expedia News

There will be a reckoning and perhaps a reordering of the competitive landscape once the coronavirus crisis fades. Meanwhile, companies such as Expedia Group know they need to have extreme focus to dig out of the mess.

Expedia in December promoted Ariane Gorin to become boss of Expedia Business Services. Gorin had led a team that had recently won major enterprise accounts, like Marriott's exclusive redistribution deal. Opportunity abounds for the company to expand its business-to-business partnerships.

It's hard to know whether greater transparency will benefit or hinder these short-term rental platforms. Might lawmakers use the information as a stick to wield over the industry?

With the impacts of climate change already upon us, the tourism sector will soon be forced to take aggressive actions to curb its carbon emissions. Because inaction is increasingly not an option.

Could investors be whispering in Glenn Fogel's ears that what's good for Barry Diller's Expedia Group might be beneficial for Booking Holdings as well? Booking Holdings is usually a first mover in such online travel initiatives, but in this case, when it comes to cost cutting, it appears as though Booking Holdings heard the rumblings emanating from Expedia Group's Seattle headquarters.

Diller and Kern are taking an ax, as promised, to Expedia Group's payroll. This could be just the first round, and the thinking might be: Why sell to private equity, have those folks squeeze out the cost savings, and reshape the business when we can do it ourselves?

Google is bending somewhat to intense regulatory pressure in Europe. But its answers in travel to date aren't very meaningful.

The straight talk from Diller and Kern will likely delight Wall Street and rankle former management and current employees. Employees will have to buy into the new vision if there's any hope it will become reality.

Trivago CEO Axel Hefer said the company will focus on those things it can control. But the issue for Trivago and some competitors is that there is so much they can't control, including Google's incursions, the rise of Airbnb, and the whims of major online travel agency advertisers when they cut their metasearch spend.

Google has argued for years that its boxed-up and featured hotel, flight, and restaurant results are highlighted because they provide users with the "best answers." But in Europe, regulators may have pushed Google to acquiesce, offering its competitors some air time in its featured results by testing direct links.