Expedia Vs. Priceline: Adding Up the Acquisitions

Expedia Inc. and the Priceline Group have been gobbling up one rival after another over the past two and a half years, to the point where few existing online booking sites in the United States are in a position to challenge them -- except perhaps one-time Expedia sister brand TripAdvisor. Expedia's acquisition today of one-time rival Orbitz is the latest in a series of volleys that has seen the two giants trade purchases of metasearch sites, car rental companies, and traditional booking sites. In their battle for online supremacy, Expedia and Priceline have opened their wallets and spent collectively