Expedia

Groupon’s Mason on Strategy, Investment and (Finally) a Way to Stop Those Pole-Dancing Offers

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on February 8 at 4:56 pm PT

Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason is known for his sense of humor, but during the company’s first earnings call today, it was all business … pretty much.

You’re Dead, Jim: Priceline Kills Off Shatner’s “Negotiator”

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 23 at 2:11 pm PT

Priceline is retiring William Shatner’s role as a celebrity spokesman after 14 years as it moves to turn consumer attention to its fixed-price hotel inventory.

Expedia Tries Out New Last-Minute Deals Site Relying on User-Generated Data

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 19 at 9:58 am PT

Here’s a new twist on flash sales deals in which users — not suppliers — find the best prices for last-minute travel deals.

Expedia President Scott Durchslag Resigns Suddenly

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 12 at 1:04 pm PT

Closely following the spinoff of TripAdvisor from Expedia last month, Scott Durchslag has officially stepped down as worldwide president of Expedia.

eBay Is the Most Recent Bay Area Transplant to Seek Access to Seattle’s Talent Pool

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 12 at 6:00 am PT

The e-commerce giant has joined a growing list of companies willing to brave the rain in order to gain access to a deep pool of technology engineers in Seattle.

News Byte

Six Major Hotel Companies Launch a Hotel Search Engine Called Room Key

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 11 at 4:15 pm PT

Here’s something novel: A new hotel search engine founded by companies that own hotels. The joint venture, called Room Key, is an effort to gain independence from some of the large online aggregators, like Priceline and Expedia or even Google. Room Key was founded by Choice Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott and Wyndham Hotel, and acquired its technology from hotelicopter in an asset deal last year.

News Byte

Amazon Picks Up Social Expertise Through Talent Acquisition

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 27, 2011 at 5:07 pm PT

Amazon has not been on the forefront of social shopping experiences, but that could change. Geekwire reports that the e-commerce giant has hired several team members from Quorus, a small Seattle start-up focused on building social shopping and marketing technologies for retailers and brands. Quorus co-founders Logan Bowers, who was previously at Zillow and Expedia, and Michael Dougherty, formerly co-founder of Redfin, have been hired along with other employees. An Amazon spokesperson has not replied to an email seeking comment.

TripAdvisor Dips Lower on First Day of Trading

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 21, 2011 at 7:59 am PT

TripAdvisor, which has collected more than 50 million reviews from travelers around the world, is facing a critique of its own on its first day trading on the Nasdaq.

News Byte

Expedia and TripAdvisor’s Breakup Is Now Official

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 20, 2011 at 5:30 pm PT

As planned, Expedia has formally concluded the spinoff of TripAdvisor today. Expedia shareholders will receive one share of TripAdvisor and one share of Expedia for every two shares of Expedia stock held prior to the split. Tomorrow, TripAdvisor will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol TRIP, and Expedia will continue to trade under EXPE.

Expedia Takes Stock as TripAdvisor Gets Ready to Fly the Coop

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 9, 2011 at 9:44 am PT

Now that Expedia’s spinoff of TripAdvisor is imminent, the hard work begins to give investors a reason to stick with the online travel agency once its high-flying media business is gone.