Expedia's CEO Talks Travel Trends And Politics

Explaining The Q1 Miss

Khosrowshahi was quick to point out the company's first-quarter report was impacted by the Easter holiday. Last year, Easter fell in the first quarter of the year, but this year it fell in the second quarter. This impacts Expedia since the company records revenue only when customers complete a purchase (hotel, car rental, etc.) as opposed to when the client finalized the reservation.

As such, Khosrowshahi is urging investors to look at the booking volume in the quarter, which showed a growth rate at a "very very high level."

Trivago Surprises

Growth within Expedia's Trivago unit grew by 63 percent in the first quarter and even surprised Khosrowshahi, who was expecting a slowdown as the business scaled.

The executive touted the platform's ability to find "every single hotel on Earth" at "the best price out there." In fact, the unit is working well both in the United States and abroad and gaining particular momentum in the Asia Pacific region.

No Impact From Politics

The analyst's report was validated by Khosrowshahi, who noted he isn't seeing any signs of any boycott in tourism-related activity from non-Americans to America.

The executive did acknowledge he is hearing from some of Expedia's partners that there are some "disruptions." Specifically, business from some Middle Eastern countries to the United States is weaker — as is from Mexico to the United States.

But Khosrowshahi emphasized his company "hasn't felt it," and the biggest issue it faces is currency related although a weaker euro does help benefit tourism from the United States to Europe.