str market mapHotels and vacation rental operators need broad distribution to fill rooms that would otherwise sit empty, but building direct demand at scale takes marketing budget most independents cannot sustain.
Expedia Group is a major global online travel and accommodation distribution company operating a portfolio of booking platforms including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, and Trivago. Founded in 1996 as a Microsoft division, it is headquartered in Seattle.
Property owners and managers list accommodation across the group's consumer sites, where Vrbo is the primary whole-home vacation rental channel. Lodging partners connect inventory through the Expedia Partner Solutions API or a self-serve extranet, reaching travellers across 200+ countries via the group's metasearch, apps, and direct-booking surfaces. Distribution is commission-based, with rates set per booking; the group also runs B2B distribution through the Expedia Partner Network and corporate tools through Expedia for Business.
Hotels, vacation rental operators, and alternative accommodation providers of all sizes seeking demand and incremental occupancy through OTA distribution; Vrbo specifically serves professional and independent whole-home hosts.
Expedia Group released a dozen products across Vrbo and Escapia. The headline change is Sponsored Listings, now global, which charges hosts per booked night rather than per impression or click. Also included: same-day bookings, non-refundable rates, two flexible cancellation options, a welcome guide, Vrbo properties inside Expedia packages, and a host protection programme covering chargebacks and guest-inflicted damage. Escapia gained a rebuilt reservation grid, distribution optimisation tools, and a pilot of Vrbo Payments.
Event date: 2026-09-01 · Summary published: 2026-09-10 · Source: PhocusWire (original report)
Listed on STR Market Map, the short-term-rental software marketplace.