Expedia forecasts upbeat 2026 bookings on demand from business clients

By Anshuman Tripathy and Aishwarya Jain

Feb 12 (Reuters) – Online travel platform Expedia forecast 2026 gross bookings and revenue above Wall ‌Street expectations on Thursday, betting on strong demand from ‌business clients.

The Vrbo-parent expects gross bookings to be in the range of $127 billion to $129 ​billion for the year, higher than analysts’ average estimate of $125.95 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The business-to-business segment, which includes customers such as airlines, offline travel agents, financial institutions, has benefited from ‌the addition of new ⁠clients.

During the fourth quarter, the company had a record number of active travel agencies using its platform ⁠for bookings, CEO Ariane Gorin said in an interview with Reuters.

The agent loyalty program, which allows independent agents to partner with Expedia and ​earn commissions ​on trips booked on the ​platform, has also buoyed the ‌business.

During the fourth quarter, gross booking in its B2B division jumped 24%, compared to 5% in its direct-to-consumer unit.

Online travel agencies are also getting a lift from cost-conscious travelers seeking value through deals and discounts.

“We had 70% more partners participating on our Black ‌Friday sales than we have ever had” ​Gorin said, adding 30% of Expedia’s ​fourth-quarter bookings came from ​inventory that included deals.

Expedia also expects annual revenue to ‌be in the $15.6 billion to $16 ​billion range, the ​midpoint of which is higher than analysts’ estimate of $15.69 billion

The Hotels.com-parent’s adjusted profit of $3.78 per share for the fourth quarter ​ended December 31, was ‌up from $2.39 per share a year earlier.

Total revenue rose ​11.4% to $3.54 billion.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Aishwarya Jain ​in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)