Articles tagged “homeaway”

The online travel environment is transitioning at a hectic pace when you consider mobile and artificial intelligence. Expedia's new CEO, Mark Okerstrom, will have to find a way to chart his company's evolution at an appropriate speed to keep up. It won't always be smooth sailing.

We can't blame Khosrowshahi for seizing a nearly once-in-a-lifetime challenge to right the trajectory of a unicorn, Uber, but this is also a very awkward time to leave Expedia. Now there will be two big-time CEOs under the gun: Priceline's new top guy, Glenn Fogel, and Khosrowshahi's successor at Expedia.

In other words, there’s plenty of opportunity out there for third parties or the big players like HomeAway and Airbnb to capitalize on offering more ancillary guest services for professionally managed vacation rentals.

Booking.com grew its vacation rental supply at a hyper clip, 51 percent in the first quarter. But vacation rentals are different than hotels, where the company has excelled, and the same formula might not be a slam dunk.

When it comes to growing brands -- or at least buying companies with capable management teams -- Expedia knows what it's doing. You can count on Trivago and HomeAway both becoming more formidable than they are today.

With its latest public policy efforts, Airbnb is inching toward legitimacy by being more willing to share information with cities. But is this enough to appropriately address the real issues, and will cities be willing to meet them halfway?

Expedia isn't overlooking its core online travel agency brands such as Expedia.com and Hotels.com, but Trivago and HomeAway are clearly rising stars. Trivago hardly ever saw a TV commercial it didn't like but increased profits in Q1, and HomeAway is in the midst of a multi-year digital-booking transition.

The extended stay portion of the lodging business continues to see strong demand. But are extended stay brands doing enough to keep up with travelers' evolving tastes and needs? And what about Airbnb?

Vacation rental bookings are increasingly going online but there is still a dichotomy in models -- instant confirmations versus a 24-hour fail-safe vetting period. Because of the fragmented nature of the vacation rental market, one-size-fits all doesn't seem to be in the offing.

Expedia's CEO says his company has momentum moving into 2017, although we heard him express similar sentiments over the last two quarters and any surge wasn't particularly noticeable. This will likely be another transition year as Expedia's HomeAway gets more digital and Trivago feels its oats as a public company.