TNB Tech Minute: Uber Partners With Expedia on Hotel Bookings

3 min

•Apr 29, 2026about 1 month ago

Summary

Uber expands into hotel bookings through a partnership with Expedia covering 700,000+ properties, while China's Geely Automobile reports record EV sales despite currency headwinds, and AI marketing startup Hytouch raises $150M at a $2.75B valuation.

Insights

Uber is diversifying beyond core ride-hailing and food delivery into travel services, signaling expansion into adjacent high-value markets
EV adoption continues accelerating globally with Geely's plug-in hybrid and battery EV sales climbing 9% despite macroeconomic pressures
AI-generated content quality remains a key differentiator, with startups focusing on brand consistency and avoiding low-quality 'slop' outputs
Major institutional investors (Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital) are backing AI marketing solutions, indicating strong enterprise demand for AI-powered tools

Trends

Tech giants expanding into adjacent verticals through strategic partnerships rather than organic developmentChinese EV makers achieving record sales volumes despite currency volatility and competitive pressuresAI marketing tools gaining traction with focus on brand safety and content quality controlInstitutional capital flowing into AI-powered B2B marketing and content creation platformsIntegration of real imagery with AI-generated content to improve output authenticity

Topics

Uber Hotel Booking Expansion Travel and Hospitality Partnerships Electric Vehicle Sales Growth Chinese EV Market Performance AI-Generated Content Quality Brand Safety in AI Marketing Venture Capital Funding Rounds Ride-Hailing Service Diversification Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Adoption AI Marketing Automation

Companies

Uber

Partnering with Expedia to offer hotel bookings for 700,000+ properties to U.S. users starting today

Expedia

Partnering with Uber to enable hotel reservations through Uber app; also owns Vrbo brand

Geely Automobile

China's second-largest EV maker reported record Q1 sales of 709,000 vehicles with 31% core profit growth

Hytouch

AI marketing startup raised $150M Series funding at $2.75B valuation led by Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital

Goldman Sachs

Led $150M funding round for AI marketing startup Hytouch

Bain Capital Ventures

Co-led $150M funding round for AI marketing startup Hytouch

Vrbo

Expedia-owned vacation rental platform planned to be added to Uber bookings later in 2025

People

Danny Lewis

Presented the TNB Tech Minute briefing for April 29th

Quotes

"Uber is expanding from ride-hailing and food delivery into hotel bookings. Under a new deal with Expedia, U.S. users will be able to use Uber to make reservations at more than 700,000 properties as of today."

Danny Lewis•~1:30

"Geely sold more than 709 vehicles in the first three months of the year a record for the first quarter."

Danny Lewis•~2:15

"Hytouch says its key selling point is the ability to train AI agents on clients' existing marketing communications in order to make sure the content they create stays on-brand."

Danny Lewis•~3:00

Full Transcript

Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it. Inflation is killing me! But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits! That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill! See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing megastore profits! They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition. Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Wednesday, April 29th. I'm Danny Lewis for The Wall Street Journal. Uber is expanding from ride-hailing and food delivery into hotel bookings. Under a new deal with Expedia, U.S. users will be able to use Uber to make reservations at more than 700,000 properties as of today. The app will offer hotel bookings for Expedia-listed properties in countries where it doesn't currently offer ride-hailing services. and plans to offer bookings for the Expedia-owned Verbo later this year. The companies did not disclose the terms of the partnership. China's second-largest electric vehicle maker reported a weaker bottom line, but says its core profit grew thanks to record sales and higher revenue. Geely Automobile says currency swings dragged its first-quarter net profit 27 percent lower to about $609.9 million. But its closely watched core profit grew 31 from a year earlier beating expectations Geely sold more than 709 vehicles in the first three months of the year a record for the first quarter. And sales of battery-powered EVs and plug-in hybrids climbed 9% to about 369,000 units. And AI marketing startup Hytouch has raised a $150 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital Ventures. The round valued Hytouch at $2.75 billion, up from $1.2 billion during its most recent funding round in February 2025. Hytouch says its key selling point is the ability to train AI agents on clients' existing marketing communications in order to make sure the content they create stays on-brand and follows successful patterns from previous campaigns, while combining real imagery and video with newly generated material to help avoid the so-called slop look common to AI. And that's it for your TNB Tech Minutes. We'll have another quick tech update in the morning. in America. See how at USPMI.com.