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.

Amazon and its return to travel via the back door
News / Online
Amazon and its return to travel via the back door
By Kevin May | May 19, 2017
Not anticipating the scale of the impact of mobile on the travel industry is quite an admission. This is especially true when it comes from someone who has been involved in so many of the bleeding Read More
HomeAway quietly introduces $1 million liability insurance
News / Online
HomeAway quietly introduces $1 million liability insurance
By Kevin May | May 16, 2017
Vacation rental giant HomeAway has started rolling out an insurance programme - the first time it has taken responsibility for the connections it makes between guests and homeowners. The $1 Million Read More
Accor links up with Misterfly to offer hotel plus flight option on its brand dotcom
News / Distribution
Accor links up with Misterfly to offer hotel plus flight option on its brand dotcom
By Martin Cowen | May 16, 2017
AccorHotels is linking up with Misterfly to provide a "hotel + flight" packaging option to its website, starting in France but with other source markets on the agenda, including the UK. Misterfly, Read More
Rome2rio ramps up direct booking options
News / Distribution
Rome2rio ramps up direct booking options
By Martin Cowen | May 15, 2017
Multi-modal search engine Rome2rio is now taking bookings for National Express and Renfe directly on its site, with more integrations on the way, including operators from Asia. It has had UK rail b Read More
Booking.com dominates leads for hotels in key European markets
News / Distribution
Booking.com dominates leads for hotels in key European markets
By Kevin May | May 12, 2017
Interesting data released from hotel switch eRevMax this week that shows the dominance of Booking.com as a source for hotel bookings in a number of European countries. In each of the five markets - Read More
Expedia buys majority stake in SilverRail
News / Distribution
Expedia buys majority stake in SilverRail
By Kevin May | May 11, 2017
Rail distribution platform SilverRail Technologies is now majority owned by Expedia Inc. Terms have not been disclosed. The deal marks the end of an eight-year journey as an independent business Read More
Latest tech-driven era in travel needs a new type of rock star leader
News / Online
Latest tech-driven era in travel needs a new type of rock star leader
By Alex Bainbridge | May 11, 2017
I have been in online travel (and offline, before that) long enough to experience a number of distinct eras. The first travel startup that I founded, in 2000, was billed as the first brochure-less Read More
Death on the high CPCs - hotels getting killed by last-click attribution
News / Distribution
Death on the high CPCs - hotels getting killed by last-click attribution
By Viewpoints | May 10, 2017
Marketing success today in the hotel sector can be measured using many diverse metrics. That's what makes it so fun, right? Analytics programs let you measure everything from who and where your web Read More
Content marketing - the new search?
News / Distribution
Content marketing - the new search?
By Viewpoints | May 5, 2017
Since the early days of “search”, travel brands have led the way in building new business models that cater to the changing ways that consumers shop online, engaging consumers at targeted moments when Read More
TripTease shifts focus to direct booking and service management
News / Distribution
TripTease shifts focus to direct booking and service management
By Kevin May | May 3, 2017
Direct-booking champion TripTease is opening what it hopes will be another weapon in the arsenal of ways to lure business away from online travel agencies. The launch of Direct Booking Platform: Il Read More
Expedia boosted by HomeAway performance in first financials of 2017
News / Distribution
Expedia boosted by HomeAway performance in first financials of 2017
By Kevin May | April 28, 2017
Expedia Inc has bumped its revenue up by 15% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017 to $2.2 billion across the group. The best performing business units within the company, in terms of revenue g Read More
TripAdvisor finally gets IHG on-board for Instant Booking
News / Distribution
TripAdvisor finally gets IHG on-board for Instant Booking
By Kevin May | April 27, 2017
TripAdvisor has persuaded another of the global hotel giants to join its Instant Booking service: InterContinental Hotels Group. The group's portfolio of brands will now be available, allowing user Read More
The power of packages for hotels
From Our Partners / Distribution
The power of packages for hotels
By Sponsored Content | April 19, 2017
Hotels currently have a variety of ways to sell rooms. The halcyon days of basing distribution strategy around the simplistic "direct" and "third-party" options are long gone. Merchant model or net Read More
Why OTA commissions are actually a steal of a deal
News / Distribution
Why OTA commissions are actually a steal of a deal
By Viewpoints | April 6, 2017
In the past six months I’ve written about increasing hotel brand fees (Hotel Loyalty Rate Analysis) and increasing loyalty fees (The Great Loyalty Rate Debate). Both articles prompted some very int Read More
Direct bookings and web presence beat mobile and personalisation as hotel priorities
News / Distribution
Direct bookings and web presence beat mobile and personalisation as hotel priorities
By Kevin May | March 28, 2017
Game on - the top business focus for hotel owners this year is to increase their direct bookings and improve their online presence. The finding, indicated in the annual Global Hotel Business Index Read More
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