Online travel agency Expedia has added a tab on top of its website’s home page that is linkable to Groupon Getaways.
The move expands the partnership Expedia and Groupon launched last summer and reflects a likely surge in travel bookings through heavily discounted flash sales.
Expedia is including Groupon Getaways as one of the 10 tabs the online agency has atop its main page, giving the daily-deal site that much more exposure to potential travelers visiting Expedia.
Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler said the company doesn’t disclose web-traffic metrics and declined to say how much of Groupon Getaways’ web traffic comes from Expedia.
Still, Expedia’s decision reflects its recognition that flash-site travel sales are on the rise.
Groupon, which doesn’t break out revenue by product, may have generated as much as $400 million in gross travel sales in 2011, PhoCusWright estimated in a report. Some of Groupon’s flash-sales offers have generated as many as 4,000 room-night sales for a single hotel, according to PhoCusWright.
Groupon Getaways launched last July in partnership with Expedia. The site follows the standard Groupon formula, where customers have a limited amount of time to buy a discount voucher good for future travel, then must book the stay within the expiration period.
Expedia said at the time of the launch that Getaways would typically be offered for about 50% off rates found at other travel sites.
Groupon, which started trading publicly in November, reported last week that its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $42.7 million from a loss of $378.6 million a year earlier, as revenue almost tripled to $502.5 million.
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