Expedia Group, Inc.
Expedia Group, Inc. operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. The B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; and Orbitz, Travelocity, ebookers, and Wotif Group. The B2B segment provides various travel and non-travel companies including airlines, offline travel agents, online retailers, corporate travel management, and financial institutions who leverage its travel technology and tap into its diverse supply to augment their offerings and market Expedia Group rates and availabilities to its travelers. The trivago segment sends referrals to online travel companies and travel service providers from hotel metasearch websites. In addition, it provides brand advertising through online and offline channels, loyalty programs, mobile apps, and search engine marketing, as well as metasearch, social media, direct and personalized traveler communications on its websites, and through direct e-mail communication with its travelers. The company was formerly known as Expedia, Inc. and changed its name to Expedia Group, Inc. in March 2018. Expedia Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
What does it do?
Expedia Group is one of the world's biggest online travel agencies — think of it as a giant digital shopping mall for trips. When you go to Expedia.com, Hotels.com, or Vrbo and book a flight, hotel, or holiday rental, that's Expedia Group at work. They also run Orbitz and Travelocity, brands you might recognize from TV ads. Essentially, they sit between travelers and travel suppliers — airlines, hotels, car rental companies — and take a cut for making the connection.
Travel demand has roared back since the pandemic, and online booking platforms are capturing more of that spending than ever as people increasingly skip the phone call to a travel agent and just book digitally. Expedia also quietly powers the travel search for huge companies like American Express and Marriott through its B2B arm, meaning its reach extends well beyond its own branded websites. With $14.7 billion in revenue and growing, it's competing directly with Booking Holdings for dominance in a multi-trillion-dollar global travel market.
How does it make money?
Expedia makes most of its money by charging hotels, airlines, and vacation rental owners a commission or fee every time a traveler books through one of its platforms — typically a percentage of the booking value. Its B2C (direct-to-consumer) brands like Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and Vrbo brought in the bulk of that $14.7B in revenue, up from $13.7B the prior year — that's roughly 7% growth. Its B2B segment sells its booking technology as a white-label service to other companies, so when a bank's travel portal or an airline's hotel page lets you book a room, Expedia is often the engine under the hood. Trivago, its hotel price comparison site, earns money when users click through to booking sites — a model called cost-per-click advertising.
Why do investors care?
The core investment story is that global travel is still growing, and Expedia is one of only two or three platforms large enough to dominate online booking at scale. Investors are also watching whether Expedia can close the gap with its bigger rival Booking Holdings, which currently generates significantly more profit despite similar revenue. The company has been cutting costs aggressively and investing in loyalty programs — One Key, which links rewards across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo — which could lock in repeat customers and reduce its massive marketing spend over time. If that loyalty flywheel kicks in, margins (the percentage of revenue it keeps as profit) could expand meaningfully.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on Expedia Group, Inc. — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.