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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 […]
It’s a vacation rental inventory gold rush! James Burrows, Rentals United
Reading Time: 4 minutesSpain: Rentals United CEO James Burrows addresses how OTAs are rushing to expand vacation rental inventory to meet increasing demand. As the world comes to grips with the ‘new normal’, the travel industry has an opportunity to begin its recovery. The vacation rental world especially is having a faster speed of recovery or is even the only sector bouncing […]
California desert vacation rentals see pandemic boom
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: The California desert regions, home to the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs, are seeing a rise in vacation rental visitors, despite the fact that hotels have remained open. Like much of the American market, many of the new bookings come from families in urban locations looking to escape to non-urban, rural destinations. According to data […]
Vrbo reports major growth as Expedia moves to cut costs
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUS: Vrbo is reporting significant growth as vacation rentals across the United States surge, helping to boost revenue for parent company Expedia Group. This contrasts with earlier in the year, when the company called its short-term rental service “fairly muted”. In an unscheduled financial filing yesterday, Expedia Group said: “Vrbo, Expedia Group’s alternative accommodation business, […]
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 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 […]
HomeAway adds tools to meet evolving customer needs
Reading Time: 3 minutesLondon: HomeAway, a Vrbo brand and part of Expedia Group, has announced more ways to help families find holiday homes, so that they can find accommodation that meets their standards for cleanliness and flexible cancellations when travel picks up again. Vrbo president Jeff Hurst said: “HomeAway has been connecting families with private, holiday homes for 25 years, and it […]
Vrbo creates new cleanliness guidelines and search filters
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: In response to travellers’ increased hygiene standards, Vrbo has introduced new cleanliness guidelines for its properties. The group hopes to support future customers worried about the impact of Covid-19 on a vacation. This new policy is informed by a combination of data from the CDC, WHO and hotelier risk management firm Cristal International Standards. […]
Stay Alfred to close its properties for eight weeks
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Travel apartment hospitality startup Stay Alfred is to close its properties across the United States for eight weeks from 1 April in order to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to Spokane-based newspaper The Spokesman. Speaking through a company spokesperson, Allen would not be drawn on commenting on whether Stay Alfred would refund its […]
Vrbo CEO Jeff Hurst expands COVID-19 refund policy
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: In a letter sent to Vrbo users, CEO Jeff Hurst has unveiled the first update to the company’s COVID-19 cancellation policy. The group has previously been alerting users that the situation was not severe enough to mandate full refunds. Vrbo now offers two options for a return of funds due to the virus. The […]