The relationship between Expedia and Travelocity has been fairly close over the past couple years; in 2013, Expedia began providing technology that powers Travelocity's US and Canadian web fronts. So it should come as no surprise that the Bellevue, WA-based Expedia Inc. has announced in a press statement the buyout of Travelocity from parent company Sabre Corporation - a deal totaling $280 million.
Travelocity is one of the biggest brands in the travel industry and has a strong presence in both North America and Europe. With Travelocity under Expedia Inc. ownership, we likely won't see any drastic changes right away. However, with a better branding front for Expedia Inc. and the addition of unnamed resources acquired from Sabre Corporation in the deal, Expedia Inc. should be able to keep more of its operations in-house, reducing the reliance on services from groups like Sabre that Expedia has used in the past to offer a complete travel shopping experience.
"The strategic marketing agreement we've had in place has been a marriage of Travelocity's strong brand with our best-in-class booking platform, supply base, and customer service. Evolving this relationship strengthens the Expedia Inc. family's ability to continue to innovate and deliver the very best travel experiences to the widest set of travelers, all over the world."
-Expedia Inc. President and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
For those that may not remember, Expedia was originally started by Microsoft. Since then, Expedia has spun off into its own business and has greatly succeeded in being a travel services provider and even has its own dedicated app featured within Windows 8.
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