Expedia News and Updates

Expedia Group is one of the most influential players in online travel, with a portfolio of brands and platforms that shape the digital booking landscape. PhocusWire provides timely, in-depth coverage of Expedia news and updates, including leadership changes, platform innovation, and shifts in its global strategy across lodging, air, and experiences.

The latest developments from Expedia and the OTA market

Track how Expedia is evolving its technology stack, streamlining traveler engagement, and reimagining its marketplace to compete in a rapidly changing OTA environment. Our reporting includes insights on product development, loyalty integration, and strategic partnerships that reflect broader trends in online travel retail.

WEBINAR REPLAY! How to Engage and Convert Gen Z and Millennials
News / Online
WEBINAR REPLAY! How to Engage and Convert Gen Z and Millennials
By PhocusWire | November 28, 2018
Today’s younger generations are redefining the rules of engagement and asserting their role in purchasing decisions—for both themselves, and their families—and travel is no exception. Read More
VIDEO: Expedia Group on being relevant and still trying to win
News / Online
VIDEO: Expedia Group on being relevant and still trying to win
By Kevin May | November 27, 2018
At some point, Mark Okerstrom will no longer be the figure who stepped into the breach at Expedia Group when his old boss and mentor Dara Khosrowshahi left to run Uber. Read More
BidRoom checks in with €15M round under new leadership
News / Online
BidRoom checks in with €15M round under new leadership
By Kevin May | November 22, 2018
Dutch startup BidRoom has raised €15 million in investment, as it looks to accelerate development of its members-only hotel booking service. Read More
An honest view from the sharp end of tours and activities
News / Distribution
An honest view from the sharp end of tours and activities
By Kevin May | November 2, 2018
There's been a huge amount of attention on tours and activities during 2018 - perhaps more than any other sector in the industry. Read More
It's the end of the hotel metasearch model as we know it
Opinion / Online
It's the end of the hotel metasearch model as we know it
By Max Starkov - HEBS Digital | October 30, 2018
The very promise to compare rates on hundreds of sites for the same hotel is what makes hotel metasearch inherently flawed. Read More
Expedia Q3 earnings 2018
News / Distribution
Expedia records another positive quarter, double-digit growth in revenue and bookings
By Mitra Sorrells | October 25, 2018
Expedia Group saw its gross booking increased $2.5 billion, or 11% year-over-year, in the third quarter of 2018, fueled by growth in Brand Expedia, HomeAway, Hotels.com and Expedia Partner Solutions.... Read More
Expedia talks up its transactional voice first on Google Assistant
News / Technology
Expedia talks up its transactional voice first on Google Assistant
By Martin Cowen | October 10, 2018
Expedia has made voice commerce in travel a reality with the the launch of a new Expedia Action on Google Assistant which allows users to book a hotel using voice. By linking an Expedia account to Read More
Expedia Google Assistant book action
News / Distribution
Expedia creates Google Assistant browse and book capability
By Mitra Sorrells | October 9, 2018
Expedia is expanding its voice technology integrations with a new “Expedia Action” on Google Assistant.   Read More
online-travel-agency-power-paradox-2
News / Online
Maintaining the power and influence of online travel agencies
By PhocusWire | October 4, 2018
One of the central tenets of the Power Paradox in travel is how some of the biggest brands ever assembled in the industry "have aggregated the content, established the trust and amassed the war chests... Read More
Hotels are right to be obsessed with direct bookings
Opinion / Distribution
Hotels are right to be obsessed with direct bookings
By Patrick Bosworth - Duetto | October 2, 2018
Because Airbnb, the online travel agencies and other billion-dollar third parties are waging an arms race to be the world’s biggest travel brand, hoteliers obviously want to optimize their booking... Read More
VIDEO: Two opposing views on Google's entry into tours and activities
News / Online
VIDEO: Two opposing views on Google's entry into tours and activities
By Kevin May | September 28, 2018
Google has always been involved in tours and activities - suppliers and online travel agencies would spend their digital marketing dollar with the search, as other brands do elsewhere in the industry. Read More
homeshare-hotels-learnings
News / Distribution
Why hotels should take cues from home-sharing, stop "obsession with direct booking"
By Linda Fox | September 25, 2018
Though traditional hotel operators have been beleaguered by the march of brands such as Airbnb, they have taken steps to embrace the trend in recent years. A good example is the Marriott... Read More
Offline part 3 tours and activities
News / Technology
Back in the offline world, part 3: Tours and activities
By Mitra Sorrells | September 17, 2018
 2018 may be remembered as a tipping point for the digitization of the tours and activities sector within the global travel industry.  Read More
Google launches Touring Bird with 25,000 experiences in 20 cities
News / Online
Google launches Touring Bird with 25,000 experiences in 20 cities
By Jill Menze | September 7, 2018
In April, PhocusWire uncovered details of Touring Bird, the hush-hush tours and activities app Google was developing inside its Area 120 incubator. Now Touring Bird has officially launched 25,000... Read More
Is there enough room for another one-stop shop like Airbnb?
News / Online
Is there enough room for another one-stop shop like Airbnb?
By Kevin May | August 29, 2018
It's worth remembering that Airbnb was the feisty little upstart of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry not too long ago - before it became a power player. Read More