Expedia Group CEO says he’s ‘rooting for revenge travel’ as revenue sinks 44% in Q1
May 6, 2021 at 6:03 pm
Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern. (Expedia Group Photo)
Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern said the travel industry remains a “study in contrasts” citing a rebounding U.S. travel market and strong vacation rentals in beach and other outdoor destinations. But at the same time, Kern, speaking on the Seattle company’s first quarter earnings call, pointed to rough patches in business travel, traditional lodging and international travel.
And he specifically noted the worsening COVID-19 situation in India, where Expedia maintains a large presence.
More travel executives get their mission-critical industry news from Skift than any other source on the planet.Tell me more
The dynamics of the travel recovery and setbacks around the world during the first quarter prompted Booking Holdings for the first time in recent memory to provide percentages about the geographic sources of its business.
Other than the company being strongest in Europe and committed to expanding in the U.S., that business mix has always been kept under wraps, absent from financial discussions and filings.
The numbers explain why expanding into the U.S. is so important for Booking.com, the largest brand in a portfolio that includes Priceline, Kayak and others, and why Booking Holdings was unable to take advantage of the boom in short-term rentals during the quarter that ended March 31.
More travel executives get their mission-critical industry news from Skift than any other source on the planet.Tell me more
Short-term rental host recruitment is a new high-stakes battle in online travel, and Expedia’s Vrbo drove home that point in kicking off a new online advertising campaign that informs hosts that if they list their homes on Vrbo they’ll attract “the guests who stay longer and spend more” than Airbnb guests.
The script of one of Vrbo’s YouTube videos, which was released Thursday, states, “If you only list your vacation home on Airbnb, you might get a few people. You might attract someone looking for a quaint little studio. But if you list it on Vrbo, you’ll attract families looking for a bit more and who spend over twice as much more. Your dream guests await. Become a Vrbo host today.
The COVID-19 vaccination rate is climbing steadily in the U.S. At its current rate, three in four people, or 75% of eligible residents, will be vaccinated by June. Businesses are reopening. The U.S. economy is now operating at 88% of its pre-pandemic level, with hope for continuous improvement. Advertisements
People want to travel again. In mid-March, Disneyland announced it would reopen on April 30. Now, all reopening day reservations for both single-park and park-hopper tickets are sold out already.
On April 2, the Friday before Easter, TSA screened over 1.58 million people at airport checkpoints, the highest number since March 12, 2020. By comparison, TSA only screened 129,763 people (about 8.2% of 1.58 million) on April 2, 2020.
Author Bio
Dan Caplinger has been a contract writer for the Motley Fool since 2006. As the Fool s Director of Investment Planning, Dan oversees much of the personal-finance and investment-planning content published daily on Fool.com. With a background as an estate-planning attorney and independent financial consultant, Dan s articles are based on more than 20 years of experience from all angles of the financial world.
Follow @DanCaplinger
The stock market moved higher again on Tuesday, and the
Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) was a big winner. As of 2 p.m. EST, the Nasdaq was up another 1.7%, adding to its gains from Monday and starting to approach its all-time record.