Expedia News

Despite the deep job cuts, the proprietary Skift Health Score calculates that Booking Holdings has far greater long-term strength than rivals Expedia Group and Trip.com Group. If you follow Booking.com's logic, the future of travel will be substantially smaller than its past.

Vrbo is benefiting from a ton of direct traffic because vacation rentals are having a moment, and competitors' paid marketing through Google fell off a cliff. The brand will likely get some sustainable benefit from the lift, but the dynamic can change in a heartbeat.

Trivago was glad to see that Booking Holdings kept on advertising, however modestly, and upped its bidding in Trivago auctions while many other partners went silent. If Booking is gaining a bit of market share, it is far from seeing a clear path to recovery as travel demand's trajectory remains a crapshoot.

Google's travel ad chief said companies that aren't seeing enough advertising benefits with Google probably shouldn't spend as much as they are. Few big travel companies would drop out of Google knowing it might sabotage their businesses, but probably an increasing number are desperate for alternatives.

Expedia Group, and its Vrbo unit, are willing to take a significant hit to their property listings in San Diego in exchange for an ongoing path to crystal clear legality in an important business and convention market. With other jurisdictions undoubtedly looking on, Airbnb has to decide if it will play hardball.

It's no accident that Expedia Group disclosed improved booking trends on Monday, and then announced a senior notes offering to refinance the company's private equity debt a day later. Hey, whether you are a homeowner or a giant online travel company, a good refinancing deal can be smart and hard to resist.

Vrbo has been in the right place(s) at the right time, somewhat reversing a very challenged 2019. Is the changed trajectory a momentary blip in the throes of a pandemic, or will it be sustainable?

Nothing like a world-shattering crisis to force companies to look into the mirror and contemplate a makeover. Will consumer travel preferences change forever because of coronavirus? Forever is a very long time.

All the recent search-and-booking activity for historically less-visited destinations will make it easier for them to justify marketing expenditures even after the pandemic wanes, says Expedia's Cyril Ranque. Could be true, given the curious logic of algorithms.

Vrbo is one of the only major short-term rental platforms with advertising opportunities. This, combined with its valuable, high-spending audience of family and group travelers, will likely make it an appealing offering to brands.