Expedia Reports Corporate Travel Growth Amid Poor Quarter

Expedia released declining fourth-quarter earnings yesterday despite strong growth from Expedia Corporate Travel. The results were not "as strong as we hoped they would be," CEO and president Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. Even though Expedia Corporate Travel grew gross bookings by more than 90 percent to over $700 million in 2005, the company is aiming even higher in 2006.

"The growth that ECT experienced is great," said Cheryl Rosner, president of Expedia Corporate Travel. "The last six months have been extraordinary. We are never satisfied and are always looking to improve upon our results."

In 2006, ECT will focus on improving worldwide supply and expanding its client base. "If there's one potential misconception that some of our suppliers have had about Expedia, it's that we only bring price-sensitive customers to the table," said Khosrowshahi. "That's no longer true. As the Internet becomes mainstream and that percentage of our business increases, we think our value to suppliers increases as well. It's our expectation that ECT will grow from less than 5 percent of our bookings in 2005 to 10 percent over the next few years."

The company said it also is investing in technology and content for its corporate travel sector, as well as other areas. "In our last round of meetings with our corporate customers, they were very clear that they want us to achieve their savings goals," Rosner said. "They also want us to focus on the traveler, who is using our services on a day-to-day basis."

Expedia earned $25.2 million in fourth quarter 2005, down from $44.1 million from the same period one year ago. Bellevue, Wash.-based Expedia's 2005 annual revenue increased 15 percent, and net income for the year shot up 40 percent to $228.7 million from $163.5 million in 2004.