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17.10.2024 - 01:09 / skift.com / Dara Khosrowshahi / Uber
In what will be every travel industry dealmaker’s wet dream come true, Uber has explored buying Expedia in recent weeks, according to a speculative report in FT this evening.
An Expedia spokesperson told Skift that the company isn’t commenting. No formal approach has been made to Expedia, and there are currently no active discussions.
Why it matters: This would be Uber’s largest acquisition to date, significantly expanding its ambitions beyond ride-hailing into travel bookings. It would also be something of a homecoming for Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was Expedia Group’s CEO from 2005 to 2017 and has stayed a non-executive board director.
• Uber market cap: $173 billion
• Expedia market cap: Just under $20 billion.
Expedia has had to lower forecasts at different points this year. In the first quarter, it noted a slower-than-anticipated recovery at Vrbo, its vacation-rental booking brand. In the second quarter, it pointed to a “challenging macro environment and a softening in travel demand.”
Executives have touted a tech migration plan to bring many of its brands onto one platform for more than a year. It’s now complete, but the benefits haven’t arrived yet.
One bright spot in the second quarter was the growth in booked room nights. Overall at Expedia Group, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Vrbo and other brands, booked room nights grew 10%, the fastest in more than a year and faster than growth at Airbnb and Booking Holdings.
He helped build Expedia. And now he’s trying to expand Uber from a ridesharing app into a booking platform for multiple types of travel.
What am I looking at? The performance of travel tech sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including online travel, booking, and travel tech companies.
The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more travel tech sector financial performance.
Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.
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A report in the Financial Times Wednesday that Uber was exploring a purchase of Expedia has everyone in the travel industry talking. If Uber were to acquire Expedia Group, it would be the biggest shakeup the travel industry has seen in years.
This article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveller UK.
An upgraded travel experience just got cheaper. Delta Air Lines recently released hundreds of flight deals in their premium cabins, such as Delta Comfort+ and Delta One for travel throughout the fall and winter. Many of the tickets are priced under $1,000, and travelers can also redeem miles from Delta's SkyMiles program for seats at a discounted rate as well. Some of the lowest-priced flight deals to Europe include New York-JFK to London-Heathrow for only $703 round-trip in Comfort+, or 59,000 Miles, valid on travel from January 7, 2025 through March 6, 2025.
What makes each of us happy is certainly subjective. However, there is one easy way you can increase your chances of feeling that emotion: Choosing to live in a happier state. In September, WalletHub released its study ranking the happiest states in the U.S. It came to its conclusion after evaluating all 50 states across three key dimensions: emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment. Those three dimensions were evaluated using 30 metrics, including the physical health of the population, sleep rates, food insecurity, commute times, income growth rate, average leisure time per person, safety, and more. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness. It then averaged each state's numbers to calculate its overall score.
Amtrak currently operates 39 routes, with trains criss-crossing the country to service 500 destinations in 46 states. Starting November 10, 2024, however, the number of Amtrak routes will go down one notch to reach a total of 38. Amtrak is cancelling two routes and launching a brand new one between Chicago and Miami called The Floridian.
Where to eat and drink is a high priority for many travelers. For those who work in the industry, that’s especially the case. I’ve been in the wine business for more than 10 years, first as a wine buyer for a retail store in New York City, and then as a journalist for the past seven years. Finding the best places to get a glass in a new destination is one of the first things I research. This past summer, I headed to Athens for the first time and was intrigued by the city’s wine scene before even hitting the ground.
My dad is from a small town in Massachusetts and has never been much for travel, but his eyes lit up like a child’s when I told him I was headed to Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg in the Swabian region of southwestern Germany. A lifelong car buff, pop knew Stuttgart as the headquarters of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. Driving me to the airport, he gushed about the legendary car museums in his coarse Boston accent: “Christalmighty, Johnny Boy, you’ll see the most gawgeous Muhcedes and Pawsches evah made!” I could only imagine otherwise-polite Germans shuddering at his pronunciation of their cherished automobile brands (but I kept that to myself).
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, October 16, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Most destinations in Greece need more tourists, not fewer, said the country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Tuesday at a conference titled “Reimagine Tourism in Greece,” hosted by the newspaper Kathimerini.
One of the challenges of living in a prominent transit hub like New York City can be navigating your way to and from its airports.
Uber is launching a new black-car service for business travelers, the company told Skift Tuesday. The service, called Uber Business Black, will come with several features designed for busy business travelers.