Travel giant Expedia accelerates global expansion, Bitcoin may benefit from it

Expedia, the online travel giant that already supports Bitcoin payments, is accelerating its global expansion plans. Specifically, the company's new CEO will boost Expedia's business in Europe and Asia.

Expedia is using Bitcoin and other new technologies to reshape the travel industry

Expedia's new CEO Mark Okerstrom

Expedia Inc.'s new chief executive, Mark Okerstrom, told the Financial Times that the company plans to accelerate its expansion plans.

In this regard, Okerstrom said in an interview with GeekWire that new technologies such as artificial intelligence and voice platforms will play a leading role in the tourism industry.

In fact, Expedia has successfully demonstrated the advantages of actively leveraging new technologies, as evidenced by Expedia’s vision of “reshaping the travel industry through the power of technology.”

Bitcoin is one of the technologies used by Expedia. As early as 2014, when Mark Okerstrom served as the company's chief financial officer and executive vice president, Expedia began accepting Bitcoin payments.

“Expedia Inc. is in a unique position as one of the world’s leading online travel companies to adopt the latest payment technologies to facilitate travel planning and booking for our customers and partners,” said Michael Gulmann, Expedia’s vice president of global product, when the company announced its acceptance of Bitcoin.

Uber, Expedia, and Bitcoin

Mark Okerstrom, who holds an MBA from Harvard, reportedly replaced Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, another business leader who supports Bitcoin.

Khosrowshahi was CEO of Expedia from 2005 to September 2017, and under his leadership, the company began to accept the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Now, Khosrowshahi has become the new CEO of another giant company, Uber. In addition, according to a press release issued by Expedia, Khosrowshahi will continue to serve on the board of directors of Expedia.

That said, with the Bitcoin-friendly Khosrowshahi currently managing both Uber and Expedia, it’s possible that the two giants will eventually collaborate in some areas.

In response, GeekWire editor Toddy Bishop asked Okerstrom if he looked forward to working with Uber.

Okerstrom responded: "I hope so. We met together in New York last week and Dara and I talked for a few hours. I think we are both very focused on how to take advantage of opportunities within the border. But, I think it is possible in the future. I'm very interested to see it."

In November 1999, Microsoft announced that its spin-off Expedia would go public through an initial public offering (IPO). At the time, Expedia was already the most popular website service provider, serving 7 million people.

Today, Expedia manages several major products such as Hotels.com, Trivago, Travelocity, CarRentals.com, Hotwire and Egencia.

Bitcoin may benefit from this

Expedia's expansion of its business scope will help increase the use of Bitcoin.

In fact, the usefulness of Bitcoin is increasingly being recognized by the travel industry.

For example, Daedalus Drones also provides Bitcoin payment services. In addition, CheapAir, AirBaltic and Polish Airlines LOT also accept Bitcoin payments.

Other airlines have also recently embraced Bitcoin, with Peach Aviation planning to accept Bitcoin payments. Peach CEO Shinichi Inoue said, "Through this move, we are encouraging overseas tourists to come to Japan and thereby revitalizing tourism in the region."