Expedia News

The typical Airbnb review talks up a rental's charms while overlooking vital information. The company's stock prospectus similarly skips some key details for understanding its business. But we can still infer a few things about the distribution dynamo.

The hotel distribution landscape is complex, with hotel rooms being sold and promoted in many different channels. Covid-19 has certainly impacted how and where hotel rooms are being distributed, but it is unlikely this disruption will be sustained long-term. That’s not to say that disruption isn’t coming, though.

Online travel brands can no longer count on paid marketing alone to drive growth as they try to penetrate developing markets. Despegar is ahead of its larger global rivals in embracing "fintech." It sees consumer loans as a way to appeal to many travel buyers who don't use banks.

The travel industry needed a new reason to believe after months of enduring the body blows from coronavirus, coming on top of four bizarro years of a president who seemed to have little regard for his former industry. Read what executives had to say about the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

In Skift's top travel stories this week, we surface the drama inside Air Canada's loyalty program, write a letter to the next president about travel industry priorities, break down the latest TSA airport security screening numbers, and detail Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian's tough talk to the hotel industry.

Using an American football analogy, Expedia Group is working on technique and drawing up a new playbook during its bye week. The company claims to not care much about market share dynamics now because travel volumes are low, but it is trying to be ready to come back strong when the game resumes.

Trivago has big structural problems, such as two online travel agencies being responsible for three-quarters of its referral revenue, but it appears to be managing costs and pumping out product changes during this down time. Give the company credit for maintaining a pulse.

Barry Diller resoundingly endorsed the future of travel when he said "if there's life, there's travel." Maybe that's why the recent $1 billion investment in MGM Resorts won't be the last for Diller in the sector.

Intent Media was in expansion mode early this year and had a good thing going, but Covid-19 and the resulting online travel advertising crash wrote the company's obituary.

In Skift's top stories this week, Expedia conducted another round of layoffs, tech investors are drooling over the events industry, American Airlines is mulling bringing back the 737 Max before the end of the year, and Google founding itself dealing with a U.S. antirust lawsuit.