Expedia News

What do a debate over landing pages, the acquisition of Momondo, a shift into hotel software services, and regulators forcing changes in online travel agency contracts have in common? Each of those seemingly unrelated things may have pushed Priceline to toggle back its spending on Trivago.

The Priceline Group is in the catbird seat in online travel — for now — while Expedia is a much smaller company with so much ground to make up. Expedia's Okerstrom is laudably talking tough about his ambitions to propel his company forward. But 2017, so far, has been anything but easy for the two newbie CEOs.

Expedia Inc. seems ready to further develop existing brands like HomeAway in 2018. An opportunistic acquisition or two might also take place, but CEO Okerstrom says he's focusing on organic growth from companies already in Expedia's portfolio.

It should be no surprise that the new Expedia CEO, who Barry Diller claims to have selected without conducting a wider candidate search, would have his own ideas about where to take the $22 billion company. Okerstrom is even talking about a path for Expedia becoming number one in online travel. That's definitely something we haven't heard publicly articulated in awhile.

Visit Seattle is positioning itself as a broker of innovation, versus a sales conduit for meeting space, by introducing meeting planners nationwide to some of the world's most advanced companies.

Expedia's move seems odd, as hotel chains ramp up their direct-booking campaigns that include best-price guarantees. Our guess is that the company tested and found that most consumers are no longer swayed by price-matching offers. Or perhaps there was pressure from ongoing probes in Europe.

Another day, another support system for travel startups. Given all these incubators and accelerators, travel startups must be enjoying a golden age of innovation and profitability. Right?

Trivago, its parent Expedia, and Booking.com all want to provide business services to hotels. It's easy to see the potential value to resource-strapped hotel managers. Still, many hoteliers remain suspicious of these giants.

The online travel agencies — as the Apex Predators and beneficiaries at the top of the current distribution scheme — aren't likely to rush in to invest in a technology that democratizes access to travel content.

With Google rumored to be ramping up its online travel efforts, it makes sense that Facebook is looking to develop more robust tools for travel companies to sell on its platform. The battle for mobile bookings is heating up.