The ride-sharing app has just hailed itself a brand new deal.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 📱Expedia + Uber = ? The ride-sharing app has just hailed itself a brand new deal. GOOD MORNING, READERS. The persistent rumors that Uber would buy Expedia have finally paid off in a much more limited way. Not content with providing on-demand transport services and food delivery, the ride-hailing app will soon allow users to book rooms through Expedia, and, later this year, vacation rentals through Vrbo. It's a bit of a full-circle moment for Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who Skift readers also know as "former Expedia CEO." The deal, which will see commissions split, means Expedia will gain a new distribution channel through a simple and familiar interface that will help elide the “cognitive overload” of app fatigue. Meanwhile, Uber will be able to use this offer to drive subscriptions to its Uber One membership. Paying $9.99 a month to get priority on local cabs and groceries is one thing. Being able to use that same app for up to 20% off of hotel rooms – a far heftier purchase – is another matter entirely.     Skift Asia Forum Knowledge Base 450+ travel leaders gathered at the Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel yesterday to learn from each other as well as speakers from leading regional and international brands. Attendees and Skift Pro subscribers have access to every session video, presentation decks, and Skift Takeaways, our new action-oriented summaries of everything that happend on stage. GET THE TAKEAWAYS         DON’T MISS THESE STORIES Uber to Add Hotels Via Expedia Deal, With Vrbo Rentals to Come By Sean O'Neill April 29, 2026 For Uber, this is bait to drive more sign-ups to its paid subscription service. For Expedia, it's an incremental channel. For hoteliers, another distribution tax of sorts. GET THE STORY CEO Interview: Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson on Surviving the Value Airline Squeeze By Gordon Smith April 30, 2026 As Allegiant’s Sun Country acquisition gathers pace, CEO Greg Anderson sees a smaller, more concentrated U.S. airline market by 2030 – and thinks Allegiant is built for it. GET THE STORY Trip.com, H World Share the Limits of Their China Playbook Abroad By Bailey Schulz April 29, 2026 Asia's travel giants can scale globally. First they have to decide which parts of the China playbook get left behind. GET THE STORY         MSC Group Expands Private Island Portfolio to Capture Luxury Demand MSC CRUISES + SKIFT 37 million cruise passengers are expected in 2026 and private islands are becoming the secret weapon keeping them coming back. Here's how MSC Group is doubling down on its Bahamas strategy to meet rising luxury traveler demand. View Article         Travel marketing is being rewritten in real time — and most brands are still playing by the old rules. See what 10 industry leaders are doing differently. Get the report.         MORNING HEADLINES Travelers Don’t Care If It’s AI or Human — They Just Want the Answer Now GET THE STORY The Great Rebalancing: Asia’s Advantage and Why Travel Brands Need to Catch Up GET THE STORY Uber’s Hotel Deal Tells You More About Expedia’s Future Than Uber’s GET THE STORY Prism’s G6 Debuts New Budget Brand in the U.S. — Studio 6 Plus GET THE STORY Investors Bet on ‘OTA 2.0’ — But Some Builders Aren’t There Yet GET THE STORY GMH Hotels: Hilton’s Platform Play What It Means for Hotels GET THE STORY How TikTok and AI Are Rewriting Booking Decisions in Asia GET THE STORY         SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK Why Uber Jumped Into Hotels Uber is no longer just chasing rides. It is chasing the trip. In this video, we break down Uber’s new partnership with Expedia and why it matters far beyond hotel booking. Uber will let U.S. users book hotels in its app, with Vrbo rentals expected to come later, and the hotel inventory is expected to scale to more than 700,000 properties globally. GET THE FULL STORY         For $7 a week, Skift gives you something the industry is missing – the full picture. Subscribe today for 25% off.         CHART OF THE DAY The importance placed on travel rises steadily with income, moving from moderate engagement at lower-income levels to near-universal prioritization among higher earners. The sharpest jump occurs in the transition to middle-income brackets, where discretionary spending power begins to unlock travel intent. At the top end, travel is no longer aspirational; it is expected. The slight plateau at the highest income tier suggests saturation rather than declining interest. The takeaway: middle- and high-income travelers are the key drivers of global travel demand, with affordability the main constraint at lower income levels. 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