Expedia Group announces improved financial results in third quarter trading update

Travel demand continued to be ‘significantly impacted’ by the COVID-19 virus, said CEO Peter Kern

Expedia Group reported improved financial results in a third quarter update for the period ending September 30.

The travel giant said ravel remains “significantly impacted” by COVID-19 but that the three-month period did see increased travel while it continued to cut costs.

A collapse in business travel has contributed to a slower recovery in Expedia’s B2B division which was 72% down year on year.

However, there was positive news from its alternative accommodation brand Vrbo, which saw growth in the third quarter in both room nights booked and revenues per room night.

For the third quarter of 2020, total gross bookings decreased 68% and total revenue decreased 58%.

Expedia said: “The year-over-year revenue decline improved in July compared to June and further moderated sequentially in August and September.”

As a percentage of total worldwide revenue in the third quarter accommodation accounted for 82%, advertising and media 6% and air 2%.

Accommodation revenue decreased 52% in the third quarter due to a 58% decrease in room nights stayed, partly offset by a 14% increase in revenue per room night.

Air revenue decreased 87% reflecting a 74% decline in tickets sold and a 48% decline in revenue per ticket, driven by a shift in product mix.

Advertising and media revenue decreased 70% due to declines at trivago and Expedia Group Media Solutions.

Peter Kern, Expedia vice-chairman and chief executive said: “Travel demand continued to be significantly impacted by the virus in the third quarter, but the increased travel in the quarter, along with continued progress on our cost initiatives, led to improved financial results.

“As the last several weeks have demonstrated, the travel industry and the world still face a prolonged and bumpy path to recovery, with increasing COVID-19 cases and uncertainty around vaccine and therapeutic timelines,” said

“Despite the challenges of COVID, our teams continue to do great work to accelerate important long-term strategic priorities, including driving efficiency across the company and evolving our tech and data platforms to deliver value-added products and services to our customers and partners.

“While it will take a more fulsome rebound in travel before we will see the effect of many of these improvements, I am confident that we have made and will continue to make great strides to reshape our business and the industry during this challenging time.”