Expedia News

The Priceline Group won't admit it but its management is feeling the heat from Expedia Inc.'s moves. Adding Orbitz Worldwide to Expedia Inc. will only increase Expedia's inorganic growth, which is growth nonetheless.

Independent hotels and chains will all feel the impact of the consolidation of Orbitz Worldwide into Expedia Inc. Independents didn't have much clout before the acquisition, and the chains will feel the pressure, too.

The antitrust prospects of Expedia Inc.'s $1.6 billion acquisition of Orbitz Worldwide hinge on which prism competition authorities choose to view the deal. Expedia would have a 75 percent share of the U.S. online travel agency market but consumers have plenty of other ways to book their trips, too.

Building an online flight business, with all of the inherent complexities, is very difficult work. Expedia Inc. is going to throw some more money at it, and it can make gains while providing an additional differentiator from Booking.com, which offers lodging only.

Don't expect the buying binge and consolidation in online travel to slow down any time soon. Expedia, the Priceline Group and TripAdvisor all intend to keep on acquiring puzzle pieces in 2015. HomeAway anyone?

Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, CheapTickets, Hotels.com, Hotwire, and Trivago -- they would all belong to Expedia Inc. if this Expedia-Orbitz deal gets approved by regulators. It's nice to be king -- although Priceline and Booking.com may have something to say about that.

It's just Priceline Vs. Expedia now in the U.S., at least for now.

A smart look at the factors, including the rush toward direct bookings, that are shaping the entire metasearch sector in 2015.

When Huston took over as CEO of the Priceline Group 13 months ago, a financial analyst told us that Huston would play it safe and not make any bold moves in his first year at the helm because he needed to assure Wall Street about his leadership. Boy, was that analyst wrong.

It would be prudent for the established leaders in online travel not to get over-confident. They are going to have to work extremely hard to maintain their positions, which will undoubtedly be altered