Expedia Group continues on its journey towards becoming an end-to-end B2B marketplace, with the announcement made today at its EXPLORE event in Las Vegas that it has entered into an agreement to acquire CarTrawler, the Ireland-based B2B car rental platform.
The move follows its recent acquisition of Tiqets, the Amsterdam-based activities and experiences platform, and together the acquisitions advance the growth strategy the company outlined to expand its Rapid API beyond lodging to include car, flights, activities and trip protection.
The transaction, which remains subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
At a press conference, Alfonso Paredes, President B2B & Chief Commercial Officer Expedia Group, said, “We’ve known this company (CarTrawler) and worked with them for many years. We are impressed with their technology and their people – it’s a perfect match – and we will make it part of our B2B platform.”
Karen Bolda, B2B Chief Product & Technology Officer, singled out CarTrawler’s superior technology in cars as well as trip protection as key reasons for the acquisition.
That, as well as speed. “We could build it ourselves, but this is the faster way,” said Parades. “We are so excited, they have 300-400 people in their team, with an entrepreneurial mindset.”
At the same time, the B2B group previewed its new, in-development AI toolkit, which rolls out with select partners in the coming months. It simplifies how B2B partners connect Expedia Group capabilities into AI experiences across APIs, interfaces, and agent workflows.
At the core is the Intelligent Experience Platform, a set of composable AI components designed to help partners launch branded travel experiences powered by Expedia Group intelligence. The product is being released globally, in multi-languages, and is currently being piloted with a partner. About 65-70% of the group’s B2B business comes from outside the US.
Calling it a “game changer”, Parades said, “It can take months to build a travel platform but with this tool, it will take days. This will allow any of our partners to launch a website, booking engine, for travel experiences easily.”
Bolda said AI has also helped addressed a key pain point that the team’s been trying to solve for years – brand differentiation. “This is a highly flexible experience layer and brands can launch a site that is differentiated. This is exactly what our partners in our B2B ecosystem have been asking for.”
As more travellers turn to AI to plan their trips, Bolda said it was important Expedia Group prepare partners for the future by giving them AI-powered tools to meet customer demand.
Said Parades, “For decades we’ve built the plumbing behind the scenes that makes travel work more connected, seamless, and trusted, bringing together supply, pricing, payments, service and more. Now we’re making that infrastructure even easier for partners to plug into. With one connection, partners can build more complete travel experiences for their customers, capture more of the trip, and do it with less complexity.”
Expedia Group B2B today serves 75,000 partners across industry verticals and 200,000 travel advisors, and its platform processes 21 billion API calls a day (Expedia Group internal data, 2025).
Marketing and media capabilities to reach more travelers
At Explore ‘26, Expedia Group also announced marketing and media network enhancements that help partners reach more travelers in more places.
For Rapid API partners, two new merchandising solutions can help drive demand and improve conversion:
- The B2B Partner Portal account can now be used to plan and track marketing
- The new Merchandising API can now be tapped to build compelling marketing experiences across platforms and channels.
Expedia Group Advertising also shared advances to its Travel Media Network, including:
- An enhanced AI-powered advertising portal, with strategies like Max Room Nights
- Richer ad formats across search results, property pages, Trips, and
- Broader reach via DSPs and exclusive media
Trust and support built in
Across these launches, Expedia Group emphasized the governance and infrastructure behind its B2B platform:
- A Responsible AI Council that reviews high-risk AI deployments before they
- Servicing remains a core strategic priority, with continued investment in people, processes, and AI as the B2B network Expedia Group B2B currently:
- Handles more than 7 million servicing calls a year for
- Provides 24/7 native voice support across 25
“Partners want growth, but they also want to know their brand and their customers are in safe hands,” Paredes said. “A year ago, we said we would build a broader platform for partners, and we did. Today, we’re helping partners sell more, serve better, and capture more of the trip, using infrastructure that’s been tested at scale for decades.”
