Small business takeaway:
- Uber’s Expedia partnership shows how app-based companies are pushing beyond core services to capture more of the customer’s broader travel and lifestyle journey, with the ridesharing and delivery platform teaming up with the online travel booking company. Three broader signals stand out: customers value fewer steps over more choices amid cognitive overload; AI-powered personalization is becoming a core loyalty tool; and travel is a test case for bundling adjacent services around real-life customer needs.
Uber Technologies is striving to become an all-in-one mobile app that can do much more than summon a ride and deliver dinner.
The company this year unveiled a partnership with Expedia Group, the online travel booking company, that allows Uber users to book hotels in the app, touting it as the leading edge of an expansion into an array of services that travelers can use while on their journeys.
“We started by making it super easy to go anywhere you want,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, during a presentation at the company’s Go Get conference this spring attended by CO—. “With Uber Eats, we made it easier to get anything you want, whether it's food, groceries, or anything else, and now we’re going to bring that same ease, that same simplicity, that same gift of time—getting it back—to the next frontier, and that’s travel.”
Uber’s foray into travel marks the ride-sharing disruptor’s efforts to grab a bigger share of the on-demand economy that has shaped consumers’ instant-gratification, hyper-convenience mindset. Now those same consumers are increasingly seeking relief from what Uber dubs cognitive overload via AI-powered tech—giving way to what EY calls the “permission economy.” Digital overload and a craving for community and connection have consumers “pulling back from screens yet adopting more AI,” granting permission to brands they trust to deliver premium conveniences they’re willing to pay for, according to a report from the strategy and tech advisory. “Customers are granting brands a conditional, revocable license to act on their behalf” to delegate tasks, simplify their lives and “reduce mental time and energy,” the report found. As a result, “a permission economy is taking shape.”
UberExpedia CEO: ‘If together we can take the stress out of travel, then we’re doing something right’
Khosrowshahi had been the CEO of Expedia for 12 years before he joined Uber in 2017.
Ariane Gorin, who became CEO of Expedia in 2024, said the partnership should help streamline the booking process for travelers by combining the ride-service and hotel-booking functions and leveraging the convenience of the Uber user interface.
“If together we can reduce the number of steps, we can save people time and money and take the stress out of travel, then we're doing something right,” she said.
Gorin said the program would expand to include the more than 700,000 hotel properties around the world that are currently available through Expedia. In addition, users of the Expedia mobile app and website in the United States can now connect directly to Uber.
Uber’s expansion into travel comes as digital hotel booking capabilities have been expanding across an array of platforms, from social media to banks and credit cards, and increasingly, AI agents, according to the State of Travel 2026 report from Skift Research. The report found that 63% of travelers already use AI to plan a trip extensively or occasionally. “To embrace this shift, brands must be discoverable [on LLMs] through high-quality content, compelling storytelling and positive reviews,” according to the report.
The report also found that the global hotel sector enjoyed a healthy rebound from the falloff during the pandemic. Global hotel revenues surpassed $1 trillion for the first time last year, more than double their 2020 levels and up about 35% over pre-pandemic volume of $757 billion in 2019, according to Skift.
Uber seeks to simplify consumers’ hospitality experience with new (AI-powered) personalized features such as ‘Travel Mode’
Amit Fulay, Vice President of Product at Uber, said the ride-booking app has created a “travel” tab that allows users to select a destination and the number of nights that a hotel is needed, with the ability to filter by price, ratings, reviews, and particular amenities such as whether or not a hotel allows for pets.
Uber’s foray into travel booking includes additional curated services through what the company calls its “Travel Mode.” This feature provides users a customized experience based on the specific location, said Fulay.
“Until now, Uber has looked the same no matter which city of the world you were traveling to,” he said. “But with Travel Mode, we understand your changed context and deliver an experience that’s tailored, more relevant, and helpful.”
The additional services begin as soon as the user lands at an airport, with a new airport wayfinding feature. Then it follows up with local recommendations for dining, shopping, and points of interest.
Once users have selected their hotel, booking is simplified by the fact that Uber already has the user’s credit card information, he said.
What’s more, AI-powered Voice Bookings are designed to help travelers book riders faster via a conversational assistant that understands their destination and preferences.
In addition to the partnership with Expedia, Uber is also planning to integrate with vacation rental platform Vrbo that allows travelers to book residential rental properties such as houses and apartments.
Uber is incentivizing users to book travel by offering discounts on hotel stays, plus an additional savings for members of the Uber One subscription program in the form of Uber credits.
Global hotel revenues surpassed $1 trillion for the first time last year, more than double their 2020 levels and up about 35% over pre-pandemic volume of $757 billion in 2019, according to Skift.
Targeting a bigger slice of the on-demand economy
The expansion into travel services is the latest stage in Uber’s diversification into new services that users can access through the app. The company started as a ride-hailing service that disrupted the taxi industry, then expanded into grocery delivery about five years ago and has since added delivery from across a range of retail segments. Now those capabilities are being layered on to consumers’ travel needs.
Uber users already turn to Uber Eats when traveling, said Effie Wang, Growth Product Manager at Uber Eats. More than 25% of users try Uber Eats for the first time when they are traveling, she said.
With Travel Mode, users can give couriers specific instructions about how to hand off deliveries while traveling, such as whether to meet in the lobby of the hotel or ring the doorbell of the house rental. The rollout of Travel Mode also coincided with the international expansion of Uber One, so that members can now earn credits when they use the app while traveling abroad.
“People want on demand everything,” Khosrowshahi said at the recent Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference. “They want to be able to push a button and in 20 minutes, get whatever they want, whether that is dinner or that’s a charging cord that you might have forgotten in your hotel as well.”
Barbara Thau contributed to this story.
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