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Expedia unveils widgets and app clip for iOS 14
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Expedia Group has released new versions of the Brand Expedia, Hotwire and Vrbo iOS apps to take advantage of the capabilities available in iOS 14. According to the company, the features will unlock new ways to view the latest travel deals with Hotwire, and easily access upcoming reservation details booked through Brand Expedia and […]
Airbnb to contest San Diego rental MOU
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Airbnb has announced plans to contest the limit of short-term rentals allowed in the city of San Diego. This follows an agreement between Expedia and local hospitality union United Here Local 30 to co-create short-term rental regulations in the city. The initial arrangement was seen as a major compromise between the city and short-term […]
Expedia’s second quarter bookings drop 90 per cent on 2019 figures
Reading Time: 3 minutesUS: Expedia Group has announced an 82 per cent drop in revenue for the second quarter of 2020, as total gross bookings for the three-month period up to 30 June also saw a 90 per cent decline on the equivalent period in 2019, to $2.71 billion. The plummeting figures for the Seattle-based online travel agency […]
Expedia signs MOU in San Diego
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Expedia Group, which owns short-term rental brands such as Vrbo and HomeAway, has signed a memorandum of understanding on potential regulations with a San Diego union. Unite Here Local 30, representing around 6,000 hotel, airport, and restaurant workers in the San Diego area, have signed, marking a key deal for labour-rental relations. Across the […]
Kaua’i County signs MOU with Expedia Group
Reading Time: 2 minutesHawaii: Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami has announced a historic memorandum of understanding [MOU] between the County of Kaua’i and global travel platform Expedia Group, the parent company of vacation rental site Vrbo. The MOU is designed to allow the county to more effectively track and regulate vacation rentals, while protecting the ability of responsible […]
Expedia Group to simplify portfolio by retiring HomeAway U.S. brand
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Expedia Group has announced that it will retire its HomeAway brand in the United States next month, instead refocusing on simplifying its vacation rental portfolio and diverting U.S. users away from the HomeAway website and mobile app towards its Vrbo brand. The group has also confirmed that any travellers who have made existing bookings […]
Expedia set to phase out short-term rental multifamily business
Reading Time: 3 minutesUS: As Expedia Group strategises its recovery from the standstill in bookings during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is believed to be preparing to phase out its short-term rental multifamily building business, which includes its Expedia Group Multifamily Solutions product. The product was formed after Expedia Group acquired venture-backed hospitality startups Pillow and ApartmentJet in 2018, […]
Expedia notes uptick in Vrbo rental bookings in May
Reading Time: 3 minutesUS: Despite announcing first quarter losses and a reduction in revenue, Expedia Group has offered cautious optimism for a market recovery in both the vacation rental and hotel segments post-pandemic. In his first earnings call as CEO since being appointed to the role last month, Peter Kern said the group’s vacation rental brand Vrbo had seen […]
Expedia Group names Kern as CEO and raises $3.2bn in capital
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Expedia Group has named Peter Kern and Eric Hart as its new chief executive and financial officers, taking over from Mark Okerstrom and Alan Pickerill, who both resigned abruptly in December over reported disagreements with the company’s board on strategy. At the same time, the group confirmed through its chairman Barry Diller that it […]
Booking.com plans for lay offs after landing $4bn loan
Reading Time: 2 minutesNetherlands: Online travel agent Booking.com has told employees in an internal memo that layoffs from the company are “probable”, just days after the Financial Times reported it had received a $4 billion loan in bonds from investors to fend off severe effects caused by the coronavirus crisis. In a video conference held with hundreds of […]