VRBO tips

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 22, 2024, and now, here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The Australian state of Victoria this week moved to give its local governments the power to limit short-term rentals in their regions.

Ariane Gorin, who took the reins as Expedia Group CEO in May, is trying to make the company more global. Gorin, who’s been a member of the Expedia Group senior leadership committee since 2015 and previously headed Expedia for Business, is well-positioned for the international challenge.

Vrbo has a new ad featuring legendary Alabama University football coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban as a nightmare vacation rental host. He soaks in a hot tub with with a clearly unsettled couple seeking privacy, tells them they can shower for five minutes maximum, and warns there’s “no fun” allowed.

Expedia’s short-term rental platform Vrbo is trying to attract hosts with a new line of ads that offer the same promise it advertises to renters: a stress-free alternative to competitors like Airbnb.

Expedia Group is “pausing” the rollout of its new One Key loyalty program beyond the U.S. and the UK in part because of the adverse impact on its Hotels.com brand.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, July 16, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

Last-minute travel sites have traditionally gained ground during challenging economic times.

People who visit Airbnb’s website and app in the U.S. first view the nightly rate and they can toggle to view the total price with all fees before taxes.

Expedia Group in recent years has shed around a half-dozen brands, and it is continuing the purge with the closure of ebookers UK on September 4.

Carl Shepherd is an investor and the co-founder of HomeAway, now part of Vrbo. He isn’t loyal to rental-booking platforms, though. It comes down to the fees and who they advantage with search.

Short-term rental veterans for years have said “professionalization” is key to industry expansion. But Airbnb believes that its individual hosts — and not professional property managers — is one of its biggest advantages over Vrbo and Booking.com.

Chase Travel grew sales last year at a pace on par with Booking Holdings and far ahead of Expedia Group.

With TikTok facing a potential U.S. ban, Expedia Group has introduced Travel Shops, a way for influencers and other content creators to earn commissions when travelers book their recommended hotels.

Ariane Gorin’s first day as Expedia Group CEO was Monday, and she has moved to the home base in Seattle after living in London and Paris for the past 23 years.

Expedia Group’s Peter Kern is handing off the CEO title to Ariane Gorin on May 13 as the company’s annual partner conference is about to kick off in Las Vegas.

What caused the widespread outages at many of Expedia Group properties this weekend? The company initially attributed them to “maintenance” but provided a different explanation Monday:

Many Expedia Group websites in the U.S. and other locations around the world were down Sunday afternoon Eastern Daylight Time for at least several hours.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, May 3. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Sponsored listings on Expedia.com and Hotels.com are a “significant” portion of Expedia Group’s advertising business, and the company is considering ways to launch them for the first time on its vacation rental platform Vrbo, as well.

TravelNet Solutions laid off around 15 employees Thursday, roughly 7.5% of its 200-member workforce, a decision the CEO said was about shifting resources toward engineering and its core property management business.