Uber is adding hotel bookings to its app as it expands beyond ride-hailing and delivery toward a broader travel-and-services bundle.
The company said Wednesday that users can now book hotel rooms in the Uber app, with hotel listings powered by Expedia Group. Uber said the Expedia network covers “700,000 hotels and other properties globally,” and that it will expand the offering later this year by adding “more than 1 million vacation rentals from Vrbo,” a brand that Uber said is owned by Expedia.
Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer, described the hotel feature as part of Uber’s push to become an “everything app” serving multiple customer needs. Kansal told The Associated Press that consumers spend too much time coordinating daily life across different apps, and that Uber wants to consolidate those tasks. “Consumers are spending too much time coordinating their life, using multiple apps. AI is in the air and they’re all trying to figure out, how does AI help me or does it not help me?” Kansal said. “Our goal with these announcements is to bring everything into one app, to help them save time, and to also help them save money.”
Uber said any user of its app will be able to make hotel reservations, while subscription customers will receive additional benefits. Uber One members, who pay $9.99 per month for zero delivery fees and other perks, will receive a 20% discount off a rolling list of 10,000 hotels, Kansal said. He also said Uber One members will receive 10% back in Uber credits that can be used to book rides.
Kansal said Uber evaluated multiple partners before choosing Expedia, and that Uber spent months integrating Expedia’s technology into its own app. He said the deal is intended to be mutually beneficial, adding that Uber’s user base is “very travel-friendly.” “They’re very excited because Uber brings a certain user base that is very travel-friendly,” Kansal said. “So I would say it’s going to mutually beneficial for both the parties.”
The hotel booking announcement came alongside other travel-related upgrades at Uber’s annual new product event. Uber said it will launch an upgraded travel mode to help users find restaurants and points of interest in the cities they visit, including restaurant recommendations and table bookings through OpenTable.
Uber also said it is rolling out a service that lets users order a drink or snack that would be waiting for them when a driver arrives using a premium Uber Black vehicle. The company said the service is set to launch in the coming weeks in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities.
At the same event, Uber pointed to competitive moves in restaurant reservations. Uber said DoorDash recently began offering restaurant reservations in its app after buying hospitality platform SevenRooms.