Skift Take
Today’s podcast looks at Expedia’s growth amidst softening demand, Delta’s pushback on CrowdStrike’s claims, and TripAdvisor Holdings possible new deal.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, August 9, 2024, and now here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Episode Notes
Expedia Group — like several other major travel brands — has seen “softening” travel demand recently, but it registered growth in several key metrics during the second quarter, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
CEO Ariane Gorin said Expedia Group is facing a more challenging environment since July, leading the company to adjust its expectations for the rest of the year. But Expedia Group said room nights at flagship brand Expedia.com jumped 20% from last year. In addition, booked room nights grew 10% overall at Expedia Group, topping both Airbnb and Booking Holdings.
Next, Delta argues the software company CrowdStrike’s offer of onsite help came too late to resolve the carrier’s IT outage, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.
Delta lawyer David Boies said CrowdStrike didn’t provide an “automatic” solution to solve an IT outage that eventually became a meltdown for Delta. The airline canceled roughly 7,000 flights after a July 19 CrowdStrike outage. CrowdStrike said earlier this week that Delta declined its offer for onsite assistance.
However, Delta claims CrowdStrike’s offer was “unhelpful and untimely.” Boies notes the offer came four days after the IT outage and by that time, Delta had already restored most of its critical systems. In a statement, Crowdstrike said “Delta continues to push a misleading narrative” and that if offered support within hours of the incident.
Finally, Tripadvisor’s controlling shareholder is looking to do a deal with travel and tourism investment firm Certares, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings CEO Greg Maffei said the company is in “active discussions” with Certares about possible transactions. Schaal notes those “active discussions” would revolve around the $325 million preferred stock investment Liberty Tripadvisor must repay Certares by March 2025. Certares became a strategic investor in Liberty Tripadvisor in March 2020.
