Travel Agent NewsOTA says it has a "voracious appetite" for developing marketplaces for travel products.

Expedia Group's sales and revenue zoom in Q2

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Expedia saw 16% revenue growth in travel insurance.
Expedia saw 16% revenue growth in travel insurance. Photo Credit: William_Potter/GettyImages

The online travel giant saw gross bookings rise 13% to US$25.9 billion from US$22.84 billion.

Expedia Group had a big second quarter of growth, recording an 11% year-over-year revenue increase to US$2.88 billion from US$2.59 billion.

The online travel giant saw gross bookings rise 13% to US$25.9 billion from US$22.84 billion.

Expedia said its revenue growth was primarily driven by growth in Brand Expedia, Hotels.com, HomeAway and Expedia Partner Solutions. 

HomeAway's gross bookings grew 33% and its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew 98% to US$78 million from US$39 million. 

Costs and expenses increased 10% to US$2.6 billion from US$2.4 billion.

Expedia's net income fell 98%, from US$57 million to US$1 million.

On the earnings call, CEO Mark Okerstrom said Expedia has a "voracious appetite" for developing marketplaces for travel products beyond hotels and alternative accommodations.

One example: Expedia saw 16% revenue growth in travel insurance.

Also during the call, CFO Alan Pickerill fielded a question about whether the recent World Cup in Russia had any impact on Expedia.

"When you have big events like this - it could be the Olympics, it could be the World Cup, sometimes it's natural disasters - there are changes in travel patterns," he said. "We do think when you have an event as large as the World Cup, you do see a situation where a decent percentage of the population is preoccupied with that event, and so you may see overall bookings slow a bit."

But typically, bookings pick back up after the event due to pent-up demand, Pickerill said.

"And I should say, too, when you have the event in a particular region or country, in this case Russia, you do see a pickup in travel into that location," he said.

Source: Travel Weekly USA

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