Expedia is switching up its strategy as consumers start to plan trips again.
The Expedia Group travel booking company is updating the experience of its app and websites to focus more on working with consumers on their trips, rather than just focusing on the volume of bookings. It also plans a global ad campaign to support the repositioning starting this week.
The new brand positioning includes the tagline “It matters who you travel with,” which illustrates Expedia’s desire to be more of a travel companion that can support travelers get more out of their trips. The company said it will make its largest marketing spend in five years, but wouldn’t specify how much it will spend.
The change comes after the pandemic caused one of the toughest years ever for the travel industry. According to figures from the U.S. Travel Association, travel spend dropped 42%, or $500 billion, from 2019 to 2020. Spend totaled $679 billion in 2020. International travel plummeted 76%, while business travel fell 70%, it said. But as more consumers are vaccinated in the U.S. and restrictions ease, travel looks poised to make a major comeback: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told CNBC last week that it will need millions of new hosts to meet demand as travel picks up again.
