Expedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Expedia.com travel website and mobile app. For the parent company, see Expedia Group.
Expedia Inc.
Expedia 2012 logo.svg
Expedia.com logo
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
Travel agency
Metasearch engine
Available inEnglish
OwnerExpedia Group
URLwww.expedia.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationYes
LaunchedJuly 16, 2001; 20 years ago (2001-07-16)
Current statusActive

Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, an American online travel shopping company based in Seattle.[1] The website and mobile app can be used to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruise ships, and vacation packages.

It is owned and operated by Expedia Group.[2][3]

History[]

Expedia.com launched on October 22, 1996, as a division of Microsoft.[4]

In 1999, Microsoft spun off the company as a public company.[5] Rich Barton became Expedia's CEO.[6]

In July 2001, USA Networks, Inc. bought Expedia from Microsoft.[7]

In December 2010, listings for AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines, were suspended by Expedia due to a dispute over how America's fares and schedules appeared in the site's search results[8] AMR and Expedia reached an agreement in April 2011, allowing tickets to once again be sold through the aggregate site.[9]

In March 2011 Expedia bought Travel Smart Vacations for the amount of $11.3 million.

In June 2014, Expedia started accepting bitcoins.[10]

In May 2018 Expedia bought USMEXCA TRAVELS for the amount of $12.6 million.

Expedia's revenue dwindled from $12 billion in 2019 to $5.2 billion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

According to the Travel Market Report, from January to December 2020 the U.S. Department of Transportation received 14,604 complaints about Expedia and other online travel agencies (OTAs) from customers trying to get refunds for cancelled flights.[12] As the source notes: "On social media, customers complained of excessively long call times and being unable to get through to a representative, leading to travelers being unable to make any changes to their travel plans or start refunds. Some people said they could not get a hold of someone for as much as 24 hours and one person said they called over 30 times."[13]

Controversies and Criticism[]

Privacy concerns[]

In February 2019, TechCrunch reported that the Expedia mobile app in the iOS App Store was using session-replay functionality from Israeli firm Glassbox, to record users' activities and send the data to Expedia servers without users' informed consent, compromising users' privacy and contravening the rules of the iOS App Store.[14][15]

Involvement in Israeli settlements[]

See also: List of companies operating in West Bank settlements

On 12 February 2020, the United Nations published a database of all business enterprises involved in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Golan Heights.[16][17] Expedia and its parent company, Expedia Group, have been listed on the database in light of its involvement in activities related to "the provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements".[18][16][17]

Legal issues[]

Expedia was involved in a number of lawsuits including class action lawsuits during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular for refusing refunds for flights canceled over the coronavirus outbreak.[19][20][21][22]

In August 2016, Buckeye Tree Lodge and Sequoia Village Inn, LLC filed a class-action lawsuit in California accusing the company and its partners of "brazen deceit" by coordinating with internet search engines and social media institutions to return false results on lodging entities in favor of those affiliated with their websites, in violation of the Lanham Act.[23][24] The lawsuit was settled in April 2021, after the company promised not to engage in false advertising.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "Look inside the new Expedia HQ in Seattle and company's commuting policy". KING-TV. October 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "Expedia ofrece a las aerolíneas la opción de reservar hoteles en sus webs". TecnoHotel (in Spanish). 2021-04-29. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  3. ^ "Google lanza una ofensiva contra Booking y Expedia". Noticias de turismo REPORTUR (in Spanish). 2021-03-10. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  4. ^ "Why is Expedia Called Expedia? | Rewind & Capture". www.rewindandcapture.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  5. ^ "Microsoft Announces Expedia Online Travel Service Initial Public Offering". Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  6. ^ "The Man Who Escaped Microsoft and Took a Whole Company With Him". WIRED. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  7. ^ "Expedia.com USA Networks, Inc., Announces Agreement to Purchase Controlling Stake in Expedia, Becoming a Leader in Interactive Travel (press release)". Expedia Viewfinder. 2001-07-16. Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  8. ^ "Online travel site Expedia removes American Airlines flights". CNN. January 3, 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  9. ^ Smith, Aaron. "American Airlines reforms partnership with Expedia – Apr. 5, 2011". money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  10. ^ "Expedia Now Accepts Bitcoin For Your Crypto-Vacations". Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  11. ^ a b "Expedia Settles False Advertising Class Action With Hotels". Court House News. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  12. ^ Montevago, Jessica (2021-03-08). "OTAs Rack Up Complaints over COVID-19 Travel Cancellations". Travel Market Report. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  13. ^ Montevago, Jessica (2020-03-18). "Expedia Travel Clients Experience Chaos with COVID-19 Disruptions". TMR.
  14. ^ Whittaker, Zack (2019-02-06). "Many popular iPhone apps secretly record your screen without asking". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2019-02-06. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  15. ^ Clover, Juli. "Some Popular iPhone Apps Secretly Record Your Screen for Analytics Purposes". MacRumors. Archived from the original on 2019-02-06. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  16. ^ a b "UN rights office issues report on business activities related to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Database of all business enterprises involved in certain activities relating to Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank (A/HRC/43/71)". ReliefWeb. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  18. ^ "UN lists 112 businesses linked to Israeli settlements". BBC. 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Traveler sues Expedia for refusing refunds on canceled flights during COVID-19 pandemic". USA Today.
  20. ^ "Hotels Accuse Expedia, Orbitz of Brazen Deceit". Court House News. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  21. ^ "Consumers grow frustrated with Expedia over COVID-19 refunds". WFTV.
  22. ^ "Expedia refund frustration". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  23. ^ Elliot, John (September 9, 2016). "Buckeye Tree Lodge files lawsuit against Expedia". The Kaweah Commonwealth. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  24. ^ "Buckeye Tree Lodge and Sequoia Village Inn, LLC v. Expedia, Inc. et al". Justia. August 17, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-22.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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