Expedia's Win, Delta's Pushback and Tripadvisor's Challenge
Skift Take
Key Points
- Expedia Group saw a 20% increase in room nights at Expedia.com and 10% overall growth in booked room nights.
- Delta Airlines had an IT outage causing 7,000 flight cancellations, criticizing CrowdStrike's delayed assistance.
- Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings is in discussions with Certares to manage the $325 million preferred stock repayment due by March 2025.
Summary
Expedia Group experienced a 20% increase in room nights at Expedia.com and a 10% overall growth in booked room nights, despite a challenging environment and softening travel demand. Delta Airlines faced an IT outage that led to the cancellation of roughly 7,000 flights, with the airline criticizing CrowdStrike's delayed assistance offer. Meanwhile, Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings is in active discussions with Certares to address a $325 million preferred stock investment that needs to be repaid by March 2025.
Skift Daily Briefing Podcast
Listen to the day’s top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday.Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, August 9, 2024, and now here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Listen Now
🎧 Subscribe
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS
Episode Notes
Expedia Group — like several other major travel brands — has seen “softening” travel demand recently, but it registered growth in several key metrics during the second quarter, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
CEO Ariane Gorin said Expedia Group is facing a more challenging environment since July, leading the company to adjust its expectations for the rest of the year. But Expedia Group said room nights at flagship brand Expedia.com jumped 20% from last year. In addition, booked room nights grew 10% overall at Expedia Group, topping both Airbnb and Booking Holdings.
Next, Delta argues the software company CrowdStrike’s offer of onsite help came too late to resolve the carrier’s IT outage, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.
Delta lawyer David Boies said CrowdStrike didn’t provide an “automatic” solution to solve an IT outage that eventually became a meltdown for Delta. The airline canceled roughly 7,000 flights after a July 19 CrowdStrike outage. CrowdStrike said earlier this week that Delta declined its offer for onsite assistance.
However, Delta claims CrowdStrike’s offer was “unhelpful and untimely.” Boies notes the offer came four days after the IT outage and by that time, Delta had already restored most of its critical systems. In a statement, Crowdstrike said “Delta continues to push a misleading narrative” and that if offered support within hours of the incident.
Finally, Tripadvisor’s controlling shareholder is looking to do a deal with travel and tourism investment firm Certares, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings CEO Greg Maffei said the company is in “active discussions” with Certares about possible transactions. Schaal notes those “active discussions” would revolve around the $325 million preferred stock investment Liberty Tripadvisor must repay Certares by March 2025. Certares became a strategic investor in Liberty Tripadvisor in March 2020.
Photo Credit: Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin in conversation with Skift’s Dennis Schaal at Skift Forum Europe on March 24, 2022 in London. Skift / Russell Harper Photography
Up Next
How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations
Redefining Luxury Hospitality in 2025
Engine Shortage Forces Air New Zealand to Scrap Seoul Route, Again
What Travel Brands Should Know About China's RedNote
