Expedia

Known as one of the largest travel agencies in the world, Expedia is giving modern travelers a single platform to research, compare, and book their trip. The company was originally founded in 1996 as a travel entity within Microsoft and spun off into its own public company in 1999. After that, the ownership setup shifted several times. One notable period came during the years 2001 to 2005, when it was part of IAC, which was called USA Networks at the time. After 2005, it went back to being run as an independent business. In 2019, the headquarters relocated. The move was from Bellevue to Seattle.

At present, Expedia is not just about flights and hotels; it has bundles in cruises, activities at your destination, and vacation packages that combine multiple pieces of a trip into one booking. The company now owns some well-known names in the travel industry, like Vrbo for vacation rentals and Hotels.com for lodging, along with Trivago for price comparison. It also has a separate entity, the Egencia division, handling corporate and business travel.

Expedia provides customer support through multiple channels, like phone support, live chat through the website and app, and social media messaging. Customers can also submit their queries, like rescheduling and cancelling flights and refunds, through the “My Trips” section.

Expedia rolled out One Key in 2023, a loyalty program that ties rewards together across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo instead of keeping them separate. The following year brought Travel Shops, which let influencers and content creators earn commissions for recommending hotels, plus an AI trip-planning tool built to help travelers put together and manage their itineraries.

Nearly thirty years after its founding, Expedia is still the most recognized name in the online travel industry amongst people and continues to expand its services and technology to meet the needs of modern travelers.