Expedia News

Trivago is bold to take on the giants Booking.com and Expedia Inc. by debuting hotel data services, too. But its rate-shopping tool is better designed and possibly more powerful than what its rivals offer. Game on.

Both the Global Business Travel Association Convention 2017 and United's second quarter earnings this week should give us a better handle on how corporate travel demand is faring in the Age of Trump and political uncertainties around the globe.

As their contract expiration deadline looms, Hyatt and Expedia are maneuvering for position with Hyatt property owners. The new Hyatt-Booking.com agreement gives Hyatt some leverage but it likely wouldn't fully make up all the ground if the chain goes completely dark on Expedia.

Expedia and Booking.com, which each doubled Marriott's TV advertising spend over the last year, are still growing like weeds despite hotels' direct-booking campaigns. That makes for a tough environment for hoteliers, although some brands will do better than others.

Will TripAdvisor be able to break through as it starts its TV campaigns around the world? Trivago has a big advantage. At this juncture in its life, Trivago is focused on gaining share while profit concerns take a back seat.

The big lesson here is that digital first is the future.

There is pomp and circumstance, and plenty of bluster, but most negotiations between online travel agencies, on the one hand, and hotels and airlines, on the other, eventually end up in signed contracts. That's because the two sides usually need each other, like it or not.

How can marketers target European travelers? The first step is understanding their behavior patterns and preferences across generations.

Hyatt, like every other hotel company out there, wants to get better rates from online travel agencies like Expedia. But does it have the scale (and the muscle) to do it?

TripAdvisor has potential to become more than a hotel booking engine, but it needs to get hotels humming and profitable to give management additional runway to fulfill that vision.