Increase In Bookings Boosts Expedia's Quarterly Results

Expedia Inc., parent company of Expedia Corporate Travel, today in its third-quarter results reported the highest rate of quarterly growth since 2005. The company does not completely separate results for its corporate travel business, but did report that its "other" bookings, which primarily are ECT and its Asia/Pacific operations, had a 27 percent year-over-year increase. The company claims ECT has nearly $1 billion in year-to-date gross bookings.

Overall, Expedia experienced a 21 percent year-over-year increase in bookings for the quarter, including a 13 percent increase in North America. Europe saw the highest growth at 47 percent.

In the earnings call, senior executives alluded to additional technology investments in the coming year, including a migration to a new technology platform, which will further enable the leveraging of the company's data warehouse, according to Expedia CEO and president Dara Khosrowshahi. ECT also has its own data warehouse used for global reporting and the business intelligence platform.

Expedia Inc. Chairman Barry Diller also said the company's technology plans are "going to be a key piece of our story. To think we've mastered the development of technology is foolish."

Meanwhile, Diller refuted rumors that Expedia will be sold to Liberty Media as part of the approved breakup of the IAC/InterActiveCorp into five separate publicly traded companies. Liberty Media is the largest shareholder of IAC, which spun off Expedia Inc. in 2005. Diller, also chairman and CEO of IAC, today "formally stated" that he has "no intention to transfer control of Expedia to Liberty Media under any circumstances." He said Expedia will not be treated as a "pawn on the chessboard."