Expedia News

2014 is turning out to be a consolidation year, with big getting bigger. But there is lots of interesting jostling beyond leaders, and that's where the action will be rest of the year. Airbnb's rise has been spectacular, and will continue to break through on the charts.

The Priceline Group's intent to acquire OpenTable means that merger and acquisition activity in the travel industry in 2014 may even outdo 2013's frenetic pace. Get ready for the next shoe to drop.

Don't expect Bitcoin to become the dominant way people book hotel stays on Expedia sites, but the move is in line with the company's desire to broaden its payment options.

Tipping behavior is mandated by the destination, not where the traveler is from, which means most global travelers should be tipping on at least a few of their vacations.

Travelers look for deals when it comes to flight, but are ready to splurge when it comes to their hotel experience highlighting habits that both industries can take advantage of.

Travelocity was once the darling in Sabre's portfolio, and now the fastest-rising star is its hospitality solutions business. It has plenty of room to grow, particularly in EMEA and APAC, where chains do not dominate and there is so much need for advanced technology solutions.

Hotwire has fallen on tough times, but don't count it out. Expedia has been putting a lot of offline advertising money into Hotwire, and as it pledged, is focusing on mobile.

The top 10 U.S. travel advertisers in paid search in 2012 also filled out the top 10 in 2013, although their positions changed somewhat. This shows how difficult it is for travel startups and other companies that were not early adopters to break through and get their messages out to consumers.

Travel industry digital ad spending is heavily skewed toward driving transactions because online travel agencies, which are primarily interested in converting lookers into bookers, are calling the shots.

Was TripAdvisor's CEO Stephen Kaufer worth $39 million in 2013? That amount is a bit of an anomaly as it includes $38 million in stock options, and he won't be eligible for more until the Summer of 2017. Although there are complaints that TripAdvisor gives geographic growth a higher priority than short-term shareholder return, we don't see anyone complaining.