How it started
History
Microsoft launched the first public beta of the Expedia booking engine in October 1996, positioning it as a consumer complement to its MSN portal. After early traffic growth, Microsoft announced plans to float the unit; the initial public offering on 10 November 1999 was priced at US$14 and the shares closed the first day at US$37, valuing the business at more than US$2 billion.
In July 2001, Barry Diller’s USA Network (later IAC/InterActiveCorp) agreed to purchase a 75 % stake in Expedia for about US$1.5 billion, marking one of the first large-scale Internet travel acquisitions. IAC took full control in 2003 and subsequently consolidated its various travel holdings. Shareholder pressure to unlock value led IAC to spin off its travel division as a standalone, Nasdaq-listed company, Expedia Inc., on 9 August 2005.
During the late 2000s Expedia broadened its portfolio with brands such as Hotels.com, Hotwire, Vrbo and regional OTAs. In April 2011 the company announced plans to separate its user-generated-content unit TripAdvisor; analysts welcomed the move and Expedia shares rose 11 %.
In February 2020, chairman Barry Diller ordered a cost-cutting programme that eliminated about 3,000 jobs (≈12 % of staff) after characterising the organisation as “bloated and sclerotic.”
Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo share a loyalty program called One Key, which launched in July 2023.
From Wikipedia’s article on expedia.com, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2