Who Owns Your Favorite Travel Website?

[Talent312]

Expedia Inc. owns Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Travelocity.com, Trivago.com and Hotwire.com.
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. owns HotelClub.com, Orbitz.com and CheapTickets.com.
The Priceline Group Inc. owns Priceline.com, Booking.com and Kayak.com.

Hotel trade group blasts proposed sale of Orbitz to Expedia

NEW YORK (AP) — The American Hotel & Lodging Association on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 issued a statement announcing its opposition to the proposed combination of travel booking sites Expedia and Orbitz, saying that the deal would mean higher prices for vacationers and larger fees for hotel owners.

Expedia early this year said it would buy Orbitz for $1.3 billion. It had hoped to complete the acquisition in the second half of this year, but the proposed buyout is still under review by the Justice Department.

The hotel trade group noted that Expedia charges hotels, on average, 11 percent higher commissions than Orbitz. Many smaller, independent hotels rely on these sites to attract travelers who otherwise would not have heard of their properties.

If the buyout goes through Expedia and competitor The Priceline Group Inc. will control 95 percent of the online travel agency bookings in the U.S., according to the hotel trade group.

 

[K2Quick]

I'll usually look at Expedia to figure out which hotels I want to stay at in a given area, but then I try to book the rooms directly with the hotel where possible. I've heard that Expedia takes a giant commission and it seems like consistently high commissions will result in either higher prices or worse service for the consumer.

 

[Passepartout]

If you were to have a conference of travel providers, and exclude Expedia and it's subsidiaries, you wouldn't need a big room.