NEW YORK, March 6, 2026, 06:15 EST
Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. jumped over 12% Thursday, following a report from The Information that OpenAI is dialing back efforts to introduce direct booking features in ChatGPT. Booking Holdings climbed roughly 8%, with Tripadvisor up 5%. Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke described the news as “incrementally positive” for online travel agencies. Reuters
Here’s why it counts: OTAs — those online travel agencies — stand between travelers and suppliers like hotels or airlines. OpenAI started leaning further into commerce with Instant Checkout for certain U.S. shopping queries in September 2025. The following month, it introduced apps inside ChatGPT, naming Expedia and Booking.com as two of its initial partners.
Mizuho’s Lloyd Walmsley called the move “the beginning of the end” for big worries about disruption hitting internet marketplace firms. Investors, he noted, were concerned that ChatGPT might move from just helping users plan to actually handling transactions itself. Barron’s
Expedia—parent to Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo—kicked off the year showing strength. Back in February, the company projected 2026 gross bookings between $127 billion and $129 billion, with revenue pegged at $15.6 billion to $16.0 billion. CEO Ariane Gorin pointed to “positive momentum” and said the outlook was for that trend to stick. Expedia Group
No green light yet from the company. Finance chief Scott Schenkel pointed out that first-quarter margins were getting a lift from reduced headcount, marketing, and cloud expenses. Still, for the remainder of the year, he called things “relatively muted.” Expedia flagged continued caution, citing choppy consumer spending. Reuters
Expedia’s surge on Thursday boosted its market cap to roughly $26.4 billion as of Friday morning, according to finance data. In a filing dated Feb. 12, the company announced plans for a 48-cent-per-share quarterly cash dividend, payable March 26.
But just as shares were bouncing, Expedia was confronted with another AI challenge out of Washington. House Oversight chair Representative James Comer, a Republican, pressed Expedia and its travel industry peers on Thursday for details about their use of surveillance pricing — a practice that leverages personal data like browsing history or location to customize what customers pay. Expedia responded, insisting it doesn’t hike prices based on user data or activity.
Tensions in travel aren’t letting up. Earlier this week, over 20,000 flights were scrapped across key Gulf hubs—a direct hit from Middle East conflict disruptions that left travelers stuck and routes in chaos. Brent crude, too, hovered near its highest since July 2024 as of Friday. Little wonder investors jumped at any headline softening the blow to travel platforms, even though plenty of risks remain for the sector.
