Expedia slumps to $1.2 billion loss in Q2

Expedia Group has revealed how it fared during what the company’s CEO described as “likely the worst quarter the travel industry has seen in modern history”.

The company swung to a net loss of US$753 million ($1.2 billion) in the second quarter of 2020 from a US$183 million ($256.8 million) profit in the prior corresponding period.

Overall revenue totalled US$566 million ($793.4 million), down 82 per cent on Q2 in 2019, while group bookings suffered an 82 per cent decline to US$2.7 billion ($3.8 billion).

Expedia vice chairman and CEO Peter Kern said the second quarter of 2020 represented “likely the worst quarter the travel industry has seen in modern history, and Expedia was of course not spared”.

“However, after the bottom of the trough in April, we saw consistent improvement in gross bookings through May and June with cancellations moderating,” he noted.

“It is clear though that it will be a bumpy and inconsistent recovery with virus numbers being volatile around the globe, and country and region restrictions changing all the time.

“We cannot control these short-term changes in demand, so we are instead focused on our needed long-term strategic work.”

Kern said that by reshaping and simplifying the organisation, Expedia Group has put itself in a position to optimise its brands, data and technology.

“These changes have also allowed us to streamline our business as we look to drive significant efficiency across the company,” he added.

“Thanks to the tremendous efforts of our team, I am confident we are on track to come out of the pandemic in a much better place.”

Expedia has made some major changes to its business operations this year, including the appointment of Kern as CEO and Eric Hart as its chief financial officer and the closure of its Multifamily Solutions business.

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