Users of the Uber ride-hailing service, can now book hotel stays on the app, the San Francisco-based company announced on Wednesday. The new offering, a partnership with Expedia Group, the online travel agency, is the latest sign of Uber’s ambitions to become a super app, going beyond mere transportation.
“We want to become the one app for everything, from helping people go anywhere, helping them get anything and now to help them as part of their travel journey as well,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive of Uber. “The more convenience we can bring to our consumer on a global basis, the better.”
Mr. Khosrowshahi said Uber’s move into hotels is a natural extension of the company’s business. Uber began as a ride-hailing service in San Francisco in 2009 and has since grown to food, grocery and package delivery, along with freight-hauling. Today, it operates in 70 countries, and in some regions users can book helicopter rides as well as train and plane tickets.
The partnership is the latest example of travel-tech companies venturing beyond their original purpose.
In March, Airbnb, the vacation rental platform, said it would let users book ride shares in 125 cities around the world; in April the company added independent hotels to its platform and it also offers experiences and services. Booking.com, which started as a hotel reservations site, now lets users book everything from flights to theme park tickets.
Anyone with the Uber app in the United States can book a hotel, but those with Uber One, the company’s premium subscription service, will get Uber credits they can use for their ride and will also have access to hotels with which the company has negotiated discounts of 20 percent or more, Mr. Khosrowshahi said
In April 2025, the Federal Trade Commission sued Uber for failing to clearly disclose subscription terms and making it “extremely difficult” to cancel the subscriptions. The case is ongoing.
The company has also recently lost two lawsuits that found it liable for sexual assaults by its drivers. Both cases were so-called bellwether cases, in which both sides test their arguments, and thousands of more suits have been filed.
Ariane Gorin, the chief executive of Expedia, said working with Uber is a win-win because it allows properties listed by Expedia to have access to Uber’s clientele.
“The partnership is helping our hotels get access to travelers, get more demand, get more exposure, all through one technology connection, so that strengthens the value proposition we bring to our hotels,” she said.
Arun Sundararajan, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and author of “The Sharing Economy” said that Expedia, which marks 30 years of business this year, can benefit from Uber’s relevance.
“Uber is a frequently used app, it is a newer company, it has been in the news so much over the years, while Expedia belongs to the older generation of e-commerce companies,” he said. “And so I can certainly see that access as being valuable if Uber can use this partnership to somehow increase their share of wallet,” he added. In return, he said, Uber is able to diversify and insure itself against changes in the ride-hailing market.
Ms. Gorin said Expedia is expanding into ride-hailing and activities, at first through partnerships like the one with Uber. Uber rides will be integrated into the Expedia app beginning in June and travelers will receive notifications before their hotel check-in date to book Uber rides at a discount. Uber expects to eventually offer more than 700,000 hotel properties on the app.
In 2024, Uber was rumored to be exploring the purchase of Expedia Group, of which Mr. Khosrowshahi was the chief executive from 2005 to 2017. Neither Ms. Gorin nor Mr. Khosrowshahi would comment on whether the new partnership is a step toward such a move.
“There’s nothing to report on those rumored conversations,” Mr. Khosrowshahi said, reiterating that the company is focused on the new partnership.
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