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United States Online Travel Agencies Bet on Loyalty, AI and B2B – Image Credit Unsplash+
After years of strong demand, U.S. online travel agencies (OTAs) are shifting from growth at all costs to strategies that secure their future. According to Phocuswright’s U.S. Online Travel Agency Market Essentials 2025, the road ahead is defined by three themes: loyalty, B2B expansion and the rise of virtual agents.
B2B on the rise
Behind the consumer business, B2B is fueling growth. Expedia’s B2B business surged 21% in 2024, now making up 30% of revenue, with partners like Walmart and Chase Travel. Booking (via Rocket Travel) and Hopper (via Hopper Technology Solutions) are also embedding travel into retail, telecom and finance platforms worldwide. In Asia, where shopping and loyalty ecosystems overlap, this race is only heating up.
Winning customers directly
Expedia’s One Key loyalty program now drives nearly half of its room nights across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Booking’s Genius tiers represent 55% of hotel nights, with two thirds of its B2C bookings coming directly through its mobile apps. Both players are betting big on loyalty to curb marketing costs and keep travelers coming back.
AI-Powered agents
Virtual travel assistants like Expedia’s Romie, Priceline’s Penny and Kayak.ai are early steps toward agentic artificial intelligence (AI) booking. At the same time, OTAs are partnering with the likes of OpenAI and Microsoft to expand their reach—and eyeing AI startups as future acquisition targets.
Connecting the trip
Dynamic packaging and “connected trip” strategies are becoming central. Expedia’s air/car/hotel packages hit $5.3 billion in 2024 and are projected to reach $6 billion by 2028. Booking’s Connected Trip transactions jumped 35% in the first quarter of 2025. Both aim to be the one-stop shop for travelers.
The Airbnb factor
Vrbo is doubling down on pure vacation rentals, while Booking continues to expand its alternative lodging supply, now topping 8 million listings. Competing with Airbnb is increasingly critical to OTA lodging growth.
The bottom line: OTAs are adapting to a plateauing U.S. market with new bets on loyalty, B2B partnerships and AI-driven innovation.
The full report unpacks these strategies and the market forces that will reshape OTAs through 2028.
Phocuswright Research’s U.S. Online Travel Agency Market Essentials 2025
