Expedia News

Check out our Skift Takes on Expedia Group's brands for consumers and businesses. Time for some #realtalk.

When mergers go awry, it isn't always merely because the acquired company was a dog. Sometimes the purchaser likewise screws the whole thing up.

The battle between Airbnb and Booking (and everyone else in online travel) is just beginning.

Despite the travel industry having had years to get used to the idea of new rules governing the sale of vacations in the European Union, there are still plenty of people still scratching their heads over the changes.

Online travel agencies remain essential to the travel industry as consolidators of, and clearinghouses for, advertising dollars throughout the space. We do not see OTAs being removed from this position easily, but growing challenges have hurt ad efficiency. OTAs must remain nimble to keep pace.

Online travel agencies remain essential to the travel industry as consolidators of, and clearinghouses for, advertising dollars throughout the space. We do not see OTAs being removed from this position easily, but challenges are growing by the day.

For all of the hype over its shopping spree of acquisitions in recent years, Expedia didn't have much to show for it compared to rival Booking Holdings. That's starting to change, and Expedia feels it's ready for a cloud-based future.

We wonder whether Airbnb's community spirit will survive its growth plans and impending IPO.

While Airbnb has been brashly adding independent hotels, HomeAway has been quietly doing the same — although it has been using an entirely different business model given its ties to parent Expedia. Curation may have its place, but all of these companies realize that the more inventory and choice they give consumers, the more likely they are to spend on a stay.

TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer is ordinarily far from being the most-compensated CEO in online travel. This year represented an unusual payout for him. But Skift's annual survey reveals that most online travel CEOs are often more handsomely compensated than what the top bosses in other industries receive, on average.