Uber is becoming an app for everything—now hotel stays. At its annual GO–GET product event, it announced a suite of new products and features, including hotel bookings and new travel tools.
The company said it reflects Uber’s continued platform strategy to bring more of everyday life into one simple user experience.
“Uber is becoming an app for everything—helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Among the new offerings, Uber introduced a partnership with Expedia Group that allows Uber customers to book hotels directly in the Uber app.
Prior to becoming CEO of Uber, Khosrowshahi held the same position at Expedia.
Uber said that it and Expedia Group are partnering to offer users in the U.S. access to a wide selection of hotels, which will ultimately grow to more than 700,000 properties in destinations around the globe. Uber One members will earn 10% back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and save at least 20% on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels worldwide. Vacation rentals from Expedia Group brand, Vrbo, will be added later this year.
The partnership is expected to expand beyond the U.S. In addition, following an initial pilot, Uber rides will be integrated directly in the Expedia app beginning in June. Travelers will receive push notifications before their hotel check-in date to book Uber rides at a discount for the duration of their trip.
“Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveler experience,” said Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travelers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Uber also introduced Travel Mode, a new experience within the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offering travelers curated recommendations on local favorites, popular tourist destinations, OpenTable reservations, Uber’s version of “room service” delivered directly to your hotel door.