HomeAway and Trivago, the sites owned by Expedia

Well known site Expedia does not disappoint its users with its offers, and its popularity is increasingly growing. Both booking and nights spent in hotels listed on the website have increased by 21% and 17 % respectively, compared to last year. As a result of this, Expedia decided to constantly list more properties on their site. As of now, Expedia offers more than 320.000 properties to its users. This comes as no surprise considering that fact that more and more tourists are booking their vacations online. However, this wasn’t the case a few years back when only a quarter of nowadays tourists booked their trips online.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is satisfied with the results, and attributes the lack of success during the second quarter of the year to luck. Khosrowshahi is confident in the success of the business, as well as the formula the site uses to attract more visitors. Expedia met and even surpassed expectations during the first and third quarter of the year, with a 33% revenue increase.

Although mainly used as a traveling website, Expedia is also heavily focused on the latest technologies. The site uses Facebook Messenger bots in order to make booking easier, as well as giving tourists the opportunity of quickly modifying their reservation. In an era where tourists are looking for convenience, the bots provide both reliability and a quick process. In the past, travelers had to change their info by placing a phone call and waiting to talk with a consultant. Expedia concentrates on making things easy for anyone who plans to travel in the near future.

In addition to that, the site also incorporated virtual experience that give tourists a taste of the trip. According to the site’s CEO, this will make travelers become more interested in a particular destination by the receive of a preview. In the CEO’s words, Expedia does not want to offer travelers an entire experience that will discourage them from booking the trip, but the opposite. A virtual reality helps tourists learn more about the location they chose, and the most beautiful areas of the city are being highlighted. The technological perks the site offers, coupled with reliable customer service helped the company grow and expand its horizons.

When it comes to locations, it has been noticed that exotic destinations such as Mexico have became less popular due to natural disasters. On the other hand, more travelers are interested in visiting the UK following Brexit. The destination has become more budget friendly, and adds to the appeal of a trip to Europe. Overall, it has been reported tourists are more inclined to choose destinations that are affordable but also fun.

HomeAway and Trivago, two of the sites owned by giant Expedia, saw revenue increases compared to the previous year. Trivago’s earnings reached $276 million, which is a significant 57% increase from last year. HomeAway cashed in $210 million, and has seen a 61% increase compared to 2015.

As a means to make business even more successful, Expedia plans to make an public offering for the $5 billion site Trivago. The negotiations are taking place at this time, and could come to a closing by the end of the year or in January.