Expedia

EXPEOnline Travel

Mentions

Podcasts

Episodes

Podcast consensus

Points of consensus

▶Expedia has formed a strategic partnership with Uber to integrate hotel booking services directly within the Uber app, as confirmed by Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in multiple podcasts.Feb–Jun 2026

▶Expedia has a significant corporate history with TripAdvisor, having spun it off as an independent public company in 2011. Prior to the spinoff, TripAdvisor was a highly profitable part of Expedia, and Expedia was its largest client.Feb–Jun 2026

▶Interactive Corporation (IAC) played a foundational role in Expedia's history, first acquiring it in the late 1990s/early 2000s and later spinning off its travel assets, including Expedia, into a new public entity.Feb–Apr 2026

▶Expedia serves as a major distribution channel for airlines, with carriers like Southwest Airlines recently deciding to list their fares on the platform to reach a wider audience.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶There are contrasting figures regarding Expedia's scale; one source cites sales of approximately $115 billion to $120 billion, while another notes that sales grew to $8.8 billion at the end of a 12-year period. This likely reflects a difference between gross bookings and company revenue, but presents a varied picture of its financial size.Feb–Apr 2026

▶Expedia's relationship with its former subsidiary TripAdvisor is complex. While Expedia was once TripAdvisor's largest and most critical client, TripAdvisor's subsequent subscription program, TripAdvisor Plus, was explicitly designed to offer hotel rates lower than those found on Expedia, positioning them as direct competitors.Apr–May 2026

▶The nature of Expedia's competitive advantage is viewed through different lenses. One perspective emphasizes its massive customer data repository as the key to success in the AI era, while another highlights the threat from competitors like TripAdvisor Plus, which aim to undercut Expedia on price.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶Corporate Evolution and SpinoffsApr 2026

Expedia's history is marked by significant corporate restructuring, originating as an acquisition by IAC and later being spun off into a new public company. This entity then continued the trend by spinning off TripAdvisor in 2011, transforming a key internal asset and major client into an independent company and eventual competitor.

This history of acquiring and divesting major assets suggests that Expedia's corporate structure is dynamic and that its portfolio of brands is not static, potentially signaling future M&A or spinoff activity to unlock shareholder value.

▶Leadership and Growth Under Dara KhosrowshahiFeb 2026

During Dara Khosrowshahi's 12-year tenure as CEO, Expedia experienced substantial growth, with sales increasing from $2.1 billion to $8.8 billion. His leadership was also marked by significant personal compensation, at one point making him the highest-paid CEO of a U.S. tech company.

The focus on Khosrowshahi's successful tenure sets a high benchmark for current leadership and highlights a period of transformative growth that shaped the company's present-day scale and market position.

▶Strategic Partnerships and Distribution ChannelsApr–May 2026

Expedia is actively expanding its reach by integrating its services into other major platforms. Recent partnerships include offering hotel bookings within the Uber app and serving as a key online travel agency for Southwest Airlines, which recently began listing fares on such platforms.

These partnerships indicate a strategy focused on embedded finance and travel, meeting customers on platforms they already use frequently, thereby expanding its addressable market beyond its own websites and apps.

▶Competitive Positioning through Data and ScaleApr 2026

Expedia is positioned as a large enterprise with sales figures in the tens or hundreds of billions. Leadership believes its primary competitive advantage in the future will be its vast repository of customer data, which it aims to leverage for superior AI-powered travel planning.

The company's future success is explicitly tied to its ability to translate a historical data advantage into a tangible product advantage, a critical challenge as new AI-native travel startups emerge.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Apr 2026

3 bullish, 2 bearish, 6 neutral(11 claims)

Expedia believes it has more customer data than any competitor, and its success ...

May 2026

2 bullish(2 claims)

Uber has partnered with Expedia to offer hotel booking services within the Uber ...

Jun 2026

1 neutral(1 claim)

Uber has partnered with Expedia to provide hotel inventory for its new travel bo...

Changes over time

Late 1990s - Early 2000s

Interactive Corporation (IAC) acquires Expedia as part of a broader acquisition strategy that also included Ticketmaster and Match.com.

2004

TripAdvisor, then part of IAC, identifies its reliance on Expedia as its largest client as a major business risk, influencing the decision to eventually sell the company.

Post-2004

IAC spins off its travel assets, including Expedia, Hotels.com, and TripAdvisor, into a new public company named Expedia Inc.

2011

Expedia Inc. spins off TripAdvisor as an independent public company. At the time, TripAdvisor was generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual profit.

Dara Khosrowshahi's 12-year tenure

Under CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia's sales grow from $2.1 billion to $8.8 billion. He becomes the highest-paid U.S. tech CEO at one point with a $94.1 million compensation package.

Recent

Expedia forms key partnerships to expand distribution, integrating hotel bookings into the Uber app and becoming a sales channel for Southwest Airlines.

Suggested prompts

How has Expedia's strategy shifted from acquiring assets like TripAdvisor to forming distribution partnerships with companies like Uber and Southwest Airlines? &nearr;What are the implications of the conflicting sales figures ($115B-$120B vs. $8.8B), and how do they reflect Expedia's business model (e.g., gross bookings vs. revenue)? &nearr;Given its history of spinning off assets like TripAdvisor, what is the likelihood of Expedia divesting or acquiring other major brands in its portfolio to optimize its corporate structure? &nearr;How can Expedia effectively leverage its claimed customer data advantage to defend against competitors like TripAdvisor Plus and emerging AI-native travel planners? &nearr;

Key concepts

TripAdvisor Relationship 1 ep Corporate Spinoffs 1 ep Strategic Partnerships 4 ep Leadership & CEO Tenure 1 ep Financial Performance & Scale 2 ep IAC (Interactive Corporation) 2 ep Competitive Landscape 3 ep AI & Data Strategy 1 ep

Notable quotes

“Expedia is a large enterprise with approximately $115 billion to $120 billion in sales.”

Barry Diller · Barry Diller: Building Media Empires (IAC, Fox, Paramount)

“During Dara Khosrowshahi's 12-year tenure as CEO, Expedia's sales increased from $2.1 billion to $8.8 billion.”

Interviewer · Uber CEO: I Have To Be Honest, AI Will Replace 9.4 Million Jobs At Uber!

“a major reason was that expedia was our biggest client... We would have gone from massively profitable to barely break even.”

Steve Kaufer · The Travel Giant Built on Billions of Reviews | Steve Kaufer on TripAdvisor

“And now we announced the deal with Expedia, where now we offer hotel bookings through Uber.”

Dara Khosrowshahi · Dara Khosrowshahi on replacing Uber drivers — and himself — with AI | Decoder

Report last updated: May 21, 2026

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