This is a common question that many travelers have when booking travel online. Expedia and Expedia Group sound very similar, but they are actually distinct entities with some important differences.
What is Expedia?
Expedia is an online travel agency and metasearch engine. It allows consumers to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises, and vacation packages. Expedia operates a number of travel booking sites, including:
- Expedia.com – The main Expedia site for booking flights, hotels, cars, cruises, and activities
- Expedia.ca – The Canadian version of Expedia
- Travelocity – A major online travel agency owned by Expedia Group
- Orbitz – Another online travel agency owned by Expedia Group
- CheapTickets – A travel booking site focused on low airfares, owned by Expedia Group
- Hotels.com – A site for booking hotel rooms, also owned by Expedia Group
In addition to its travel booking sites, Expedia also operates a travel metasearch engine called Trivago. This site aggregates prices and availability from other travel sites to help find travelers the best deals.
What is Expedia Group?
Expedia Group is the parent company that owns Expedia, along with all the other Expedia travel booking brands. Expedia Group was spun off from Microsoft in 2001 and has grown into one of the largest online travel companies. It has over 200 travel booking and review sites across more than 70 countries worldwide. Some of the key brands under Expedia Group include:
- Expedia.com
- Hotels.com
- Orbitz
- Travelocity
- trivago
- HomeAway
- VRBO
- Egencia (corporate travel booking)
- CheapTickets
- Hotwire
- Wotif (Australia & Asia)
- ebookers (Europe)
In addition to these consumer travel brands, Expedia Group also owns CarRentals.com, a car rental metasearch site, and Classic Vacations, a luxury travel specialist. The company has over 25,000 employees worldwide.
The Relationship Between Expedia and Expedia Group
To summarize the key facts:
- Expedia Group is the parent company that owns the Expedia brand and travel booking sites
- Expedia.com is the flagship travel site owned by Expedia Group
- Expedia Group owns over 200 travel brands, including Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity, and more
So while Expedia and Expedia Group are closely linked, they refer to two different entities:
- Expedia is a travel booking brand owned by Expedia Group
- Expedia Group is the overall company that owns Expedia plus many other brands
Expedia Company History
Here is a brief history of the Expedia brand and Expedia Group:
- 1996 – Expedia founded as a division of Microsoft
- 2001 – Expedia spins off from Microsoft into a publicly traded company, Expedia Group
- 2002 – Expedia acquires Classic Vacations luxury travel brand
- 2003 – Expedia acquires activity booking site Funjet Vacations
- 2004 – Expedia acquires European online travel agency Venere Net
- 2005 – Expedia acquires metasearch site TripAdvisor
- 2009 – Expedia splits into two divisions – Expedia and TripAdvisor
- 2011 – Expedia acquires majority stake in online travel agency eLong in China
- 2013 – Expedia acquires Wotif, an Australian online travel company
- 2013 – Expedia acquires Travelocity brand and assets from Sabre
- 2014 – Expedia acquires Auto Escape Group, adding CarRentals.com
- 2015 – Expedia acquires Orbitz Worldwide, including Orbitz.com and CheapTickets
- 2015 – Expedia acquires HomeAway, a vacation rental site
- 2018 – Expedia acquires AirAsia’s travel and lifestyle business Travel 3Sixty
Through strategic acquisitions over the past 20+ years, Expedia Group has grown into one of the travel industry giants, with a portfolio of over 200 travel booking and media brands across 75 countries.
Expedia Group Business Model
Expedia Group operates primarily as an online travel agency (OTA) that provides booking services for flights, hotels, rental cars, activities, cruises, and more. The company earns money by charging its customers a service fee and receiving commissions from travel suppliers. Some key elements of Expedia Group’s business model include:
- Travel bookings – The core of Expedia’s business is providing travel bookings and taking a commission, typically 5-25% of the total booking value. This includes booking fees and commissions from airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruises, activities, and more.
- Advertising revenue – Expedia Group websites generate advertising income from travel companies who want to promote their brands and offers.
- Service fees – On top of commissions, Expedia charges service fees to travelers for using their sites, typically $5-$10 per booking.
- Subscription revenue – Some Expedia Group brands earn revenue through travel agent subscription models that provide access to travel deals.
- Corporate travel revenue – Egencia, Expedia’s corporate booking platform, charges subscription fees to companies to manage their business travel programs.
- Media revenue – Brands like Trivago and TripAdvisor generate money through advertising across their travel comparison and review sites.
This diverse set of revenue streams from across its portfolio of travel brands enables Expedia Group to generate over $12 billion in annual gross bookings.
Expedia Group Financials and Valuation
As a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ stock exchange, we can look at Expedia Group’s financial results and valuation metrics:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | $22.7 billion |
| Revenue (TTM) | $11.2 billion |
| Gross Profit Margin | 79.8% |
| Operating Margin | 3.3% |
| Net Income | $412 million |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 24.8x |
With nearly $11 billion in trailing 12-month revenues and healthy gross margins, Expedia Group has established itself as one of the largest and most profitable online travel agencies. The company has invested heavily in technology and acquiring new brands to strengthen its position in the competitive travel industry.
Expedia Group Brand Portfolio
Expedia Group owns a vast portfolio of over 200 travel booking and media brands. Here is a breakdown of some of its major brands:
Core OTA Brands
- Expedia.com – Flagship travel booking site
- Hotels.com – Hotel-focused booking site
- Orbitz – Full-service booking site for flights, hotels, cars
- Travelocity – Online travel agency targeted to American consumers
- CheapTickets – Discount travel bookings for flights, cars, hotels
- ebookers – European online travel agency
Vacation Rental Brands
- VRBO – Vacation rental listings and bookings
- HomeAway – Vacation rental marketplace
Metasearch Brands
- trivago – Hotel price comparison site
- Hotwire – Discount travel booking with opaque pricing
Specialty Travel Brands
- Egencia – Corporate travel management platform
- CarRentals.com – Car rental price comparison site
- Classic Vacations – Luxury and upscale travel packages
This wide range of brands and travel sites provides Expedia Group with diversification across geographies, travel verticals, and business models. It has allowed the company to establish itself as a dominant player in the $1+ trillion global travel industry.
Key Differences Between Expedia and Expedia Group
Although Expedia and Expedia Group are intrinsically linked, there are some notable differences between the two entities:
- Business Type – Expedia is an online travel brand, while Expedia Group is a diversified travel conglomerate and holding company.
- Ownership – Expedia is owned by Expedia Group along with 200+ other travel brands.
- Origin – Expedia was founded first in 1996, while Expedia Group was spun off from Microsoft in 2001.
- Employees – Expedia Group employs over 25,000 people globally, while Expedia focuses just on its core site.
- Financials – Expedia Group reports publicly-traded consolidated financials, while Expedia’s finances roll into its parent company.
- Operations – Expedia Group oversees a vast portfolio of brands, while Expedia focuses on running its travel booking website.
While average consumers may confuse Expedia and Expedia Group, it’s clear within the travel industry that they represent two distinct but related organizations – one is a leading travel site and the other is a global travel and technology conglomerate.
Conclusion
In summary, while their names sound very similar, Expedia and Expedia Group refer to two different entities:
- Expedia is an online travel booking brand founded in 1996.
- Expedia Group is the parent company that owns Expedia plus 200+ other travel brands that was spun off from Microsoft in 2001.
Some key facts:
- Expedia Group owns and operates the Expedia website along with Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, and many more travel brands.
- Expedia focuses primarily on operating its online travel booking platform for flights, hotels, car rentals, and more.
- Expedia Group is a $12+ billion travel conglomerate and holding company trading publicly on the NASDAQ.
- While consumers may associate them together, within the travel industry Expedia and Expedia Group have distinct, albeit connected, identities.
Understanding the relationship between Expedia the brand and Expedia Group the parent company can be useful for anyone in the travel and tech industries.
