Online Travel Agencies 1Q13: Domestic Pressures Persist, While Overseas Growth Holds

Summary

U.S. online travel agencies (OTAs) were off to a good start in 1Q13, despite contrasting trends in the domestic and international segments. Domestic OTA growth continues to slow, while overseas markets remain a crucial tailwind, although not as strong as in the recent past. Aggregate total gross bookings for the three public U.S. OTAs – Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline – increased year over year. The gap in gross bookings between Expedia and Priceline, the world’s largest OTAs,
narrowed significantly in 1Q13.