Expedia News

As we've noted before, as much as hotels and online travel agencies may not necessarily love one another, they certainly need each other. Their current love-hate relationship will certainly change, however, if and when other players like Airbnb or Google become bigger players in the hotel booking space.

Anyone who thought the three new online travel agency leaders — Jane Sun, Glenn Fogel, and Mark Okerstrom — intended to be mere caretakers of their predecessors’ policies and legacies would have been mistaken. To a large degree, they are stepping out into new territory.

Whether or not you agree with this, it's certainly an idea worth contemplating as everyone and everything in the travel industry are beginning to converge. Whatever you decide, please don't shoot the messenger.

As a sage songwriter once said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Trivago CFO Axel Hefer knows that, and he said current headwinds are obviously harder to manage than tailwinds. But if Trivago can work its way out of the mess it's in, it may emerge as a stronger company.

Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom believes there's room for both its HomeAway unit, as well as Airbnb, in the growing alternative accommodations market. It sounds as though he expects big things from vacation rental booking site HomeAway in 2018.

There were a ton of people who wanted the COO position at Uber, and it went to Expedia alum and former Orbtiz Worldwide CEO Barney Harford. The pressure will be on both Khosrowshahi and Harford to turn around the ridesharing company. As if there weren't abundant pressure already.

Expedia's HomeAway unit isn't as profitable as the parent company initially envisioned, and Booking.com rained on Trivago's parade. Still, Expedia itself — and financial analysts — are optimistic about Expedia's long-term prospects. Regardless of the promise, these are very challenging days in online travel.

Expedia has been talking for a couple of years about being opportunistic when it comes to mergers and acquisitions for its Egencia business travel unit. That may be on the back burner for awhile, though, as the parent company, which has been bogged down in integrating acquisitions over the past couple of years, focuses on growing what it already has.

Expedia isn't done trying to grow; that would be suicide for any public company. Instead, Expedia argues it can best spur growth by digging in deeper in countries where it already operates rather than expanding its map. The new strategy boils down to a question of priorities, and could change again in coming years.

Expedia penned its second loyalty-enrollment agreement with a hotel chain, but like the previous pact with Red Lion's parent, the G6 Hospitality deal isn't any kind of game-changer for Expedia as it tries to soften the effects of the the big chains' direct-booking campaigns.