U.S. Online Travel Agencies 1Q15: When Expedia and Priceline Corner the Market...

Summary

After setting the stage for global domination through acquisitions in 2014, U.S. public online travel agencies (OTAs) began their 2015 campaign on a strong note. Aggregate gross bookings for the three publicly listed U.S. OTAs – Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline – rose in 1Q15. Their combined growth, however, softened considerably year over year due to two key factors. Suppliers focused on increasing share of their direct business amid improving fundamentals and recovering demand in the U.S. domestic market. In addition, strengthening of the U.S. dollar masked OTAs' actual international growth. These factors will remain major headwinds for OTAs for the remainder of 2015.