If you believe the rumor mill, Google is on the verge of gobbling both Skype and Expedia.
On Tuesday, Michael TechCrunch Arrington decided that the world's largest search engine had an eye on Skype - which hasn't exactly meshed with eBay - and apparently, this was not an April Fools joke.
"Something big is brewing between Google and Ebay’s Skype, we’ve heard from multiple sources," Arrington wrote. "For weeks now there have been low level rumors of the two companies talking, but nailing down any details was difficult. New information, however, suggests that they are in current talks and that a partnership or outright acquisition may be announced in the near future."
Of course, Arrington is not always right about such things.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Google has an eye on Expedia, America's largest online travel site, citing some financial research outfit. This financial outfit cited "unsubstantiated rumors."
This is the same Reuters that recently told the world Google was interested in buying CNET, citing another financial research outfit. This financial outfit also cited "rumors."
When we contacted Google, they said "Google does not comment on rumor or speculation."
We report all this only to see if someone will read it and report it again.
Showing posts with label Expedia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expedia. Show all posts
Friday, April 4, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Expedia enters India - Brings the World to Indian Travelers
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world's leading online travel company, with gross bookings of nearly USD $20 billion in 2007, today announced its entry into India with the launch of www.Expedia.co.in. The online travel booking site has been designed specifically for Indian travelers and offers the best in hotels and travel destinations worldwide, along with fully localized service and an in-country customer care center staffed with dedicated agents who speak both Hindi and English.
“Indian online travel market is estimated to be worth over USD$2 billion for 2007-08 and is growing rapidly. The number of Indians traveling abroad is growing. For Indian travelers who prefer to holiday in exotic locations overseas, Expedia is the ideal place to book travel, as we are an international travel expert with global product range, competitive prices, and in-depth travel and destination information,” said Sharat Dhall, Managing Director, www.Expedia.co.in. “Expedia is the global leader in online travel, operating in 17 countries, and last year alone, we helped more than 26 million people find a room for the night and put more than 22 million travelers on airplanes. We are very excited to help Indian travelers research, plan and book their perfect holiday.”
"The launch of Expedia India provides us an additional foothold as we continue to invest aggressively in Asia to match the enormous scale and potential of the region,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Expedia, Inc. “Our goal isto grow our international revenue to half of our total revenue, and burgeoning travel markets like India are key to achieving that goal.”
Expedia’s customers in India will have access to nearly 80,000 hotels across the globe and covering a wide price range. A unique offering by Expedia® is the Attractions section with a choice of more than 3,000 in-destination activities and attractions around the world. On Expedia, travelers can plan how to spend their time during their holidays even before departing on their trip. Expedia.co.in offers tickets to events, attractions, sightseeing tours, theme parks, spas, restaurants, culinary experiences, and unique experiences such as diving with sharks in Australia or going quad biking in Dubai.
“Expedia.co.in will help Indian travelers plan fun-filled summer holidays to their favorite international destinations this year,” said Dhall.
Unlike most online travel agencies that offer only planned packages, Expedia India provides choices customized to the preferences of the Indian customer. The website allows payment in Indian rupees and delivers travel deals that offer value to the Indian customer. Prices are quoted upfront and include all taxes and supplier surcharges, so customers are easily able to understand the total cost of their travel, without any hidden charges. Expedia also delivers cutting edge technology and user interface. Indian travelers will also benefit from a variety of innovative tools on Expedia.co.in, such as 360-degree virtual tours of rooms and facilities in popular hotels worldwide, with over 280,000 traveler reviews of hotels throughout the world.
Founded more than 10 years ago, Expedia pioneered the online travel industry, extending the Expedia brand to 17 countries around the world, and becoming the global leader in online travel. Among is employee base, Expedia has hundreds of staff throughout the world who work directly with hotels and other supply partners in local markets to secure Expedia’s unmatched selection of travel options. The company first invested in the Asia travel market in 2005 through its investment in eLong™ (http://www.elong.net/), the second largest online travel company in China. Expedia.co.in is the fourth branded Expedia website in the Asia Pacific region joining current sites in Australia, http://www.expedia.com.au, Japan, http://www.expedia.co.jp and New Zealand, http://www.expedia.co.nz. Over 50 million people visit Expedia’s global websites each month.
For more information on Expedia.co.in, please visit http://www.expedia.co.in
“Indian online travel market is estimated to be worth over USD$2 billion for 2007-08 and is growing rapidly. The number of Indians traveling abroad is growing. For Indian travelers who prefer to holiday in exotic locations overseas, Expedia is the ideal place to book travel, as we are an international travel expert with global product range, competitive prices, and in-depth travel and destination information,” said Sharat Dhall, Managing Director, www.Expedia.co.in. “Expedia is the global leader in online travel, operating in 17 countries, and last year alone, we helped more than 26 million people find a room for the night and put more than 22 million travelers on airplanes. We are very excited to help Indian travelers research, plan and book their perfect holiday.”
"The launch of Expedia India provides us an additional foothold as we continue to invest aggressively in Asia to match the enormous scale and potential of the region,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Expedia, Inc. “Our goal isto grow our international revenue to half of our total revenue, and burgeoning travel markets like India are key to achieving that goal.”
Expedia’s customers in India will have access to nearly 80,000 hotels across the globe and covering a wide price range. A unique offering by Expedia® is the Attractions section with a choice of more than 3,000 in-destination activities and attractions around the world. On Expedia, travelers can plan how to spend their time during their holidays even before departing on their trip. Expedia.co.in offers tickets to events, attractions, sightseeing tours, theme parks, spas, restaurants, culinary experiences, and unique experiences such as diving with sharks in Australia or going quad biking in Dubai.
“Expedia.co.in will help Indian travelers plan fun-filled summer holidays to their favorite international destinations this year,” said Dhall.
Unlike most online travel agencies that offer only planned packages, Expedia India provides choices customized to the preferences of the Indian customer. The website allows payment in Indian rupees and delivers travel deals that offer value to the Indian customer. Prices are quoted upfront and include all taxes and supplier surcharges, so customers are easily able to understand the total cost of their travel, without any hidden charges. Expedia also delivers cutting edge technology and user interface. Indian travelers will also benefit from a variety of innovative tools on Expedia.co.in, such as 360-degree virtual tours of rooms and facilities in popular hotels worldwide, with over 280,000 traveler reviews of hotels throughout the world.
Founded more than 10 years ago, Expedia pioneered the online travel industry, extending the Expedia brand to 17 countries around the world, and becoming the global leader in online travel. Among is employee base, Expedia has hundreds of staff throughout the world who work directly with hotels and other supply partners in local markets to secure Expedia’s unmatched selection of travel options. The company first invested in the Asia travel market in 2005 through its investment in eLong™ (http://www.elong.net/), the second largest online travel company in China. Expedia.co.in is the fourth branded Expedia website in the Asia Pacific region joining current sites in Australia, http://www.expedia.com.au, Japan, http://www.expedia.co.jp and New Zealand, http://www.expedia.co.nz. Over 50 million people visit Expedia’s global websites each month.
For more information on Expedia.co.in, please visit http://www.expedia.co.in
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Expedia(R) Corporate Travel to Launch Full-Service Travel Offering in China
Expedia(R) Corporate Travel (ECT), a full-service travel management company, today announced plans to launch service in China through a strategic partnership with eLong, Inc. Companies doing business in China will have access to fully localized service, global reporting capabilities and an in-country call center that is staffed with dedicated agents who speak both Mandarin and English.
A key part of Expedia Corporate Travel's commitment to the Chinese marketplace is represented by a strategic partnership with eLong(TM), the second largest online travel company in China. Since its inception, eLong has built one of the broadest travel service distribution networks in China. The company utilizes Web-based distribution technologies and a centralized nationwide call center to provide consumers with consolidated travel information.
The launch of service in China will mark ECT's first foray into the critical Asia-Pacific market. A dedicated local corporate travel team and call center are the first steps in a much larger strategy to meet the needs of its global client base. With the addition of China to its global offering, travel managers will be able to drive travel policy compliance across a broader range of markets.
"Our entry into the Asia-Pacific region is part of our commitment to grow with the needs of our customers," said Jean-Pierre Remy, president of Expedia Corporate Travel. "Many of our existing customers and prospects already do business in China, so we have a clear opportunity to better service the needs of these clients by being where they need us to be."
ECT's entry into China underscores the company's focus on balancing each new market's unique needs while maintaining a consistent, high level of service. In addition to global content across the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world, the partnership with eLong will provide ECT's customers with access to over 4,700 hotels in more than 330 cities across China, as well as flight options to more than 70 major cities in the country.
"It's exciting to partner with Expedia Corporate Travel as they enter China to meet the needs of global businesses" said Guangfu Cui, CEO of eLong. "Our local market knowledge and relationships with regional suppliers, combined with ECT's outstanding level of service designed for the corporate travel market, ensures a strong corporate travel offering for companies doing business in China and beyond."
ECT remains committed to giving customers direct access to their travel data so that they can make informed decisions about how to better manage their travel programs. As part of ECT's new offering in China, customers will be able to choose from a range of different product and service offerings based on their needs.
Expedia Corporate Travel's move into China increases its global presence that already includes operations in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain.
About Expedia(R) Corporate Travel
Expedia(R) Corporate Travel is the No. 1 online corporate travel agency and fifth largest travel management company in the world. As part of Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ:EXPE) , the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel, Expedia(R) Corporate Travel brings together the best of technology and corporate support in a single-source solution that drives down costs. Business travelers have access to specialized tools, while companies can take advantage of rich management and reporting features.
About eLong, Inc.
eLong, Inc. (NASDAQ:LONG) is a leading online travel company in China. Headquartered in Beijing, eLong(TM) has a national presence across China. eLong uses web-based distribution technologies and a center to provide consumers with access to travel reservation services. Aiming to enrich people's lives through the freedom of independent travel, eLong empowers consumers to make informed choices by providing a one-stop travel solution and consolidated travel tools and information such as maps, virtual tours and user ratings. eLong has the capacity to fulfill air ticket reservations in over 57 major cities across China. In addition to choice of a wide hotel selection in the Greater China region, eLong offers Chinese consumers the ability to make bookings at international hotels in over 140 destinations worldwide. eLong operates the websites http://www.elong.com/ and http://www.elong.net/.
A key part of Expedia Corporate Travel's commitment to the Chinese marketplace is represented by a strategic partnership with eLong(TM), the second largest online travel company in China. Since its inception, eLong has built one of the broadest travel service distribution networks in China. The company utilizes Web-based distribution technologies and a centralized nationwide call center to provide consumers with consolidated travel information.
The launch of service in China will mark ECT's first foray into the critical Asia-Pacific market. A dedicated local corporate travel team and call center are the first steps in a much larger strategy to meet the needs of its global client base. With the addition of China to its global offering, travel managers will be able to drive travel policy compliance across a broader range of markets.
"Our entry into the Asia-Pacific region is part of our commitment to grow with the needs of our customers," said Jean-Pierre Remy, president of Expedia Corporate Travel. "Many of our existing customers and prospects already do business in China, so we have a clear opportunity to better service the needs of these clients by being where they need us to be."
ECT's entry into China underscores the company's focus on balancing each new market's unique needs while maintaining a consistent, high level of service. In addition to global content across the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world, the partnership with eLong will provide ECT's customers with access to over 4,700 hotels in more than 330 cities across China, as well as flight options to more than 70 major cities in the country.
"It's exciting to partner with Expedia Corporate Travel as they enter China to meet the needs of global businesses" said Guangfu Cui, CEO of eLong. "Our local market knowledge and relationships with regional suppliers, combined with ECT's outstanding level of service designed for the corporate travel market, ensures a strong corporate travel offering for companies doing business in China and beyond."
ECT remains committed to giving customers direct access to their travel data so that they can make informed decisions about how to better manage their travel programs. As part of ECT's new offering in China, customers will be able to choose from a range of different product and service offerings based on their needs.
Expedia Corporate Travel's move into China increases its global presence that already includes operations in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain.
About Expedia(R) Corporate Travel
Expedia(R) Corporate Travel is the No. 1 online corporate travel agency and fifth largest travel management company in the world. As part of Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ:EXPE) , the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel, Expedia(R) Corporate Travel brings together the best of technology and corporate support in a single-source solution that drives down costs. Business travelers have access to specialized tools, while companies can take advantage of rich management and reporting features.
About eLong, Inc.
eLong, Inc. (NASDAQ:LONG) is a leading online travel company in China. Headquartered in Beijing, eLong(TM) has a national presence across China. eLong uses web-based distribution technologies and a center to provide consumers with access to travel reservation services. Aiming to enrich people's lives through the freedom of independent travel, eLong empowers consumers to make informed choices by providing a one-stop travel solution and consolidated travel tools and information such as maps, virtual tours and user ratings. eLong has the capacity to fulfill air ticket reservations in over 57 major cities across China. In addition to choice of a wide hotel selection in the Greater China region, eLong offers Chinese consumers the ability to make bookings at international hotels in over 140 destinations worldwide. eLong operates the websites http://www.elong.com/ and http://www.elong.net/.
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