Expedia News

Is the Boston-Airbnb settlement, which calls for short-term regulatory platforms to comply with a city ordinance, a model for future agreements? Too soon to tell but what's clear is that the alternative accommodations industry will one day transition from outliers to regulated entities.

The hotel business was never an easy one for online travel companies. Far from it. But compared with the complexities of alternative accommodations, executives at Booking Holdings may come to regard the hotel business as a relative cakewalk.

All roads lead to Uluru, even after October 26 when a ban to climb "The Rock" is put into effect. Customers are changing, a reason why it should all be rock-steady for the red desert in Australia's Northern Territory long after the ban is enforced.

Does anyone remember when Travelocity was the leading U.S. online travel agency? We're thinking about that because a milestone may have taken place in the first quarter when Airbnb attracted more room nights booked than did Expedia. What it does clearly show is that the online travel pecking order is very much in flux.

Marriott took a big leap in launching its own short-term rental business to take on Airbnb. But it's definitely still too early to expect the world's largest hotel chain to challenge on that front.

Of the several measures to bring arrivals back to pre-Easter bombing levels, a tireless Sri Lanka is asking online travel agencies to slash commissions. It might be better to ask them instead to do a free or at-cost campaign to drive bookings to the country.

Expedia and Ctrip are the two large online travel companies that have so far not acquired a technology partner to foster the growth of their tours and activities' businesses. GetYourGuide argues that these tech/connectivity companies should remain independent, but how long will it be before some of these smaller companies get scooped up?

Expedia is moving toward simplifying the various brands and organizational units it has acquired over the years, and changes such as these are to be expected.

When Expedia Group acquired HomeAway, now renamed Vrbo, in 2015, officials obviously knew they weren't getting an Airbnb. Still, they may have obtained less than they bargained for because the journey so far has been very bumpy.

Trivago is trying to make peace with its largest advertisers, especially the biggest, Booking Holdings. These peace overtures seem to be working for now, but metasearch and advertising can be very fickle things.