What are booking sites?

In the olden days, if you wanted to book a flight or a hotel you would have to either visit a travel agent or make a phone call armed with a credit card. Thankfully, since the early 1990s, booking travel is much simpler thanks to the internet and booking sites. Booking sites are, essentially, broker sites which allow customers to book their own travel and accommodation as well as comparing prices and facilities of a large number of accommodation and travel options. 

While you will often find a bargain on travel sites, this is not always the case so if you are, for example, booking a specific flight or hotel, it's always a good idea to check on the provider’s own website before committing to your purchase on the booking site.

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Expedia vs Booking.com

When it comes to the two titans of the travel booking world, the big question is “which to choose”? In this section, we’re taking a closer look at both Expedia and Booking.com and sharing some of the pros and cons of each.

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Expedia

Launched in 2001 by Rich Barton, Connecticut based Expedia is now a household name and one which millions of people worldwide turn to automatically when booking travel. 

Expedia boasts 5643 professional customers (i.e. travel providers such as airlines and hotels) across 10 countries and enjoys a 7.32% market share in the category of reservation and Online Booking, putting it in third place globally.

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Where in the world?

Most of Expedia’s professional customers are based in the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States of America.

For professional customers, Expedia uses a sliding scale of fees with most customers paying a commission of between 10% and 30%. For hotels, the rate tends to fluctuate at a non-negotiable rate of between 15% and 20% except for large hotel chains. 

Professional customers will usually be required to sign a contract with Expedia and the length of the agreement will depend on a number of factors. 

Expedia boast a whopping 675 million monthly visits!

In 2017, Expedia recorded a worldwide revenue of $10.6 billion.

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“I'm a big believer that leadership is not granted. It's earned and it's earned from the people around and below you and not from above. So when you're looking for leaders you don't have to look too far. You just have to look at who people are looking to." Rich Barton

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Expedia Pros and Cons

The Pros

• Listing a business on Expedia can greatly increase its visibility and therefore improve sales and bookings
• Expedia sometimes offers partnership benefits such as insurance
• Expedia acts as an intermediary, thereby saving vendors time and manpower hours

The Cons

• Expedia charges commission fees of between 10% and 30% which can cut into profits for smaller businesses
• Vendors may suffer a lack of control over how their brand appears on the Expedia site
• Vendors may not have full control of their pricing on the Expedia website
• The Expedia site may impose rules and restrictions which limit a vendor’s business

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The consumer’s verdict

While we’ve talked a little about Expedia from a provider’s point of view, it’s now time to look at things from a consumer’s perspective:

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The consumer pros and cons of Expedia

The Pros

• Expedia can offer consumers great deals on hotels, flights, holidays and more
• Expedia’s easy to use website makes it really easy for consumers to compare prices and facilities
• Consumers can take advantage of Expedia’s bundling discounts when buying more than one travel product
• Expedia’s partnership with Affirm allows customers to pay for their trip in installments

The Cons

• While many good deals are available, Expedia won’t necessary always have the best price for your chosen travel product
• Expedia has some quite restrictive policies on things like cancellations
• Although Expedia is reliable, errors with bookings do occasionally happen so it's usually best to confirm with the vendor directly just in case

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Effective communication with customers is crucial for vendors to maintain a good relationship and encourage repeat bookings. For tips on crafting engaging messages, take a look at a guide on writing welcome series subject lines.

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Unique features

So what’s so great about Expedia compared to other similar sites? Expedia has some great unique features including: 

• Itinerary sharing - A really handy feature which allows customers to share their travel plans with others for easy organisation
• Influencer stories - For those looking for a bit of travel inspo, these stories can be a great source of information‍
• Romie - This clever feature is like an Expedia powered assistant which can help you with shopping, planning, booking and much more

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Booking.com

Launched by Geert-Jan Bruinsma in Amsterdam in 1996 Booking.com is the go-to booking site for a huge number of global customers. 

Booking.com has 4103 professional customers across 10 countries, with a market share of 5.32%, placing the company in fourth place worldwide.

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Where in the world?

Most of Booking.com’s professional customers are based primarily in the United States of America. 

For professional customers, Booking.com charges a fee of between 10% and 25% based on factors including location, rate per room and length of stay. 

Fun fact: Booking.com founder, Geert Bruinsma poured his heart and soul into the company for seven years. However, in 2003, he decided to focus on his family life and sold his shares in Booking.com for the tidy sum of 17 million Euros. Since stepping away from Booking.com, Geert has kept himself busy with a number of projects including designing the website for his children’s school and co-founding Staying - an app for property landlords.

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Booking.com Pros and Cons

The Pros

• Booking.com can help vendors to significantly improve their visibility giving them access to more customers
• Booking.com offers a number of options for how a vendor’s business is displayed on the site
• This booking site offers vendors instant confirmation of bookings to help avoid any overbooking or other errors
• Booking.com offers an extremely reactive customer support process

The Cons

• Booking.com charges commission fees which can be fairly high for a small business
• This booking site will sometimes also charge additional fees for bookings if certain payment methods are used
• Booking.com offers limited insurance protected for vendors
• Some hoteliers claim that they have suffered seriously delayed payments by Booking.com

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The consumer’s verdict

So, there are a few ups and downs when it comes to using Booking.com as a vendor or professional customer but how about consumers? Let’s take a look: 

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The consumer pros and cons of Booking.com

The Pros

• Booking.com offers a wide range of products including small and / or local accommodation which you may not find elsewhere
• Consumers can often find some great money-saving deals on the site
• Consumers are able to book hotels on the site and defer payment until their arrival
• The site is extremely easy to use and navigate
• Booking.com has a focus towards sustainability

The Cons

• Venues on Booking.com will sometimes display incorrect information
• Although discounts and offers are available, you may not always get the best deal on the site
• Some customers complain about refused or delayed refunds when cancelling a purchase

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Unique features  

• Since 2010, Booking.com has boasted 4.5 billion guest arrivals
• Booking.com boasts that it never charges reservation fees
• booking.com offers electric car rental in 114 countries

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The Conclusion

As we’ve shown in this article, both of these gladiators of the online booking world have their ups and their downs but who comes out on top? In this section, we’ll share a summary of Expedia and Booking.com: 

When comparing the two sites, we can start with the numbers - Expedia stands in 3rd place globally with 5643 professional customers and a market share of 7.32%. Booking.com stands in 4th place with 4103 customers and a market share of 5.32%

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Both platforms charge a relatively high fee to professional clients on a sliding scale.

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Both platforms serve millions of users across the globe. 

Unique and special features

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Both platforms have something extra to offer their users -

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• Expedia - Diverse range of booking options, Expedia Rewards loyalty program, itinerary sharing‍
• Booking.com - Free cancellation, free breakfasts, electric car rental in 114 countries

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Sustainability

Both companies have demonstrated a commitment to the environment. 

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In 2023, Expedia published a Climate Action Plan which included a commitment to reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Booking.com has a Climate Action Plan which includes collaboration to decarbonise the industry, making it easier for customers to book more sustainable travel and building a culture of sustainability. 

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Sharing the lows

When it comes to downsides, the two platforms are pretty much even stevens - both can be subject to reliability issues and neither will necessarily have the best deal on each and every travel product offered. 

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The verdict

Choosing between Expedia and Booking.com is a tricky proposition as both platforms have plenty to offer and enjoy a pretty good reputation. 

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While Booking.com might come out on top with users who are looking for unique or quirky properties, it has also developed something of a poor reputation with hotel vendors who complain about missing or late payments. 

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Expedia’s far reach and extremely wide range of properties, along with its loyalty scheme are very much plus points - as is its reputation for reliability. Both vendors and users are, however, sometimes a little frustrated with some of Expedia’s rules and restrictions. 

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At the end of the day, choosing a booking site as a vendor or customer is a personal choice and, so, your best bet is to make a list of your own requirements and then compare this against each site to see which one looks like a better fit. 

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