Expedia expects travel demand to decline through year-end

During Expedia’s second quarter financial results presentation, CEO Ariane Gorin said that demand is expected to decline in the third quarter, which is why the company has lowered its expectations for the remainder of the year.

For her part, CFO Julie Whalen indicated that gross bookings have accelerated during the second quarter, but in the third quarter they see a more challenging macroeconomic environment and a slowdown in Travel demand.

Whalen added that customers are looking for lower-priced properties and lower ticket prices, with weaker-than-expected growth in both B2C and B2B during July, and that revenues are expected to fall 3% to 5% in the third quarter, as reported by Phocuswire.

However, the OTA posted good results in the second quarter with gross bookings and business growth in the second quarter of 6% compared to the results of the same period in 2023.

As reported by REPORTUR.usIn addition to implementing artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Expedia has created the Travel Shops platform for content creators, where they can share their Travel experiences, since 70% of consumers trust the recommendations they make on their social networks as influencers. (Alfonso Paredes details Expedia’s plan to create its influencers).

“That’s why we recently launched Travel Shops, a platform where content creators can save and share their Travel recommendations in a central place within the Expedia app. This allows creators to earn commissions, increase visibility and customize their own space for Travel content,” Alfonso Paredes, president of Expedia’s Private Label Solutions, explained to El Español.