The online travel industry isn’t slowing down. According to Statista, it’s expected to generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by 2030. And by 2025, over 70% of travelers will book their trips online. Platforms like Expedia, Booking.com, and Airbnb have raised the bar—people now want fast results, one-stop options, and full control over their bookings.
After the pandemic, those expectations only grew louder. Users want instant access to flights, hotels, and car rentals. They want tools that feel smart—mobile-friendly design, accurate availability, real-time pricing, and helpful suggestions based on what they like. Slow-loading websites or clunky booking systems? They’re not getting a second chance.
So, if you're eyeing the travel space and wondering how to build a travel website like Expedia, you're in the right place. This guide breaks down what it really takes to develop a website like Expedia—step by step. From must-have features and choosing the right tech stack to API integration and the actual cost to build a travel website, we've laid it all out.
Whether you're running a travel agency looking to modernize or a startup hoping to break into this $1T+ industry, this is your starting point. No fluff. Just real answers.
This isn’t just a trend—it’s a multi-billion dollar business model. In 2023, Expedia Group pulled in $12.8 billion in revenue. That’s not from owning planes or running hotels. It’s from connecting the dots—millions of users with thousands of providers—fast, reliably, and at scale.
Phocuswright reports that the online travel market is set to reach $1.14 trillion by 2030. That's across flights, hotels, car rentals, and bundled experiences. If you're looking for ways to make money while offering real value, a platform like this gives you multiple levers to pull—commissions, ads, premium listings, B2B partnerships, even white-label SaaS options.
Expedia doesn’t stock inventory. It aggregates supply from global vendors and serves it to users in real-time. That means lower overhead for you, higher scalability, and more time spent on improving user experience instead of managing bookings manually.
Here’s who can win with this model:
Whether you're solving travel chaos for backpackers or helping corporate travelers stay on schedule, building a travel website like Expedia offers a reliable path to recurring income—especially with automation and smart integrations on your side.
If you want to build a travel website like Expedia, you’ll need more than slick visuals and a working booking form. Think speed, clarity, and trust. Your users need to find and book what they want in seconds. Vendors need tools to run their business. And you need data to grow yours.
Let’s break it down.
This is where travelers search, compare, and book. Focus on user experience and performance.
This is where travelers search, compare, and book. The goal? Zero friction.
This is your control center—everything from listings to marketing lives here.
Your supply side—hotels, guides, agencies—need their own space.
| Feature | MVP | Full Product |
| Search & Filter | ✅ | ✅ |
| Real-Time Booking System | ✅ | ✅ |
| Secure Payment Gateway | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reviews & Ratings | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Loyalty & Rewards | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Partner/Vendor Portal | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Dynamic Pricing Tools | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Analytics Dashboard | 🚫 | ✅ |
Start lean. Focus on getting people from search to checkout without glitches. Once you’ve got traffic and a few vendor partners, then start layering in rewards, data tools, and pricing features.
Let’s be honest—if you want to build a travel website that doesn’t buckle under real-time bookings and data-heavy APIs, you’ll need more than plug-and-play tools. The tech stack you choose makes or breaks performance. Here’s what we use to develop websites like Expedia, based on real projects—not just theory.
React.js is one of the most popular JavaScript libraries for building fast, interactive web interfaces. It allows your development team to create modular components that load quickly and update smoothly—important for search, filter, and booking flows.
Tailwind CSS speeds up styling with a utility-first approach. It helps build responsive, mobile-ready designs that adapt across devices. In travel platforms, where user attention spans are short, this makes a big difference in user experience.
The backend is where the heavy lifting happens. And you’ve got options.
Node.js is a top pick if you expect high traffic and need to juggle multiple API calls at once—like syncing hotels, flights, and car rentals. It’s fast, lean, and plays well with modern frontends.
Django, built with Python, is a solid choice if you're leaning into complex data structures and need something more opinionated. It also gives you a secure, admin-friendly base right out of the box.
We’ve used both, depending on the scope. If you already have dev talent, go with what they know. Both scale just fine.
For most OTAs, PostgreSQL is the winner. It handles bookings, user data, transactions, and inventory like a champ.
But MongoDB has its place—especially if your platform has a lot of flexible, loosely structured data like filters, user tags, or vendor-specific extras.
If your records need strict rules (like payment data), PostgreSQL is usually your best bet.
Want to develop a website like Expedia? You can’t skip APIs. These tools let your platform talk to the rest of the travel industry in real time:
These APIs are battle-tested and well-documented. They’re reliable—and they scale.
Here’s the tech you’ll probably end up using—because everyone does:
These aren’t fancy extras—they’re part of the backbone. We use them in nearly every build because they just work.
So, you want to build a website like Expedia? Great idea—but fair warning, it’s not just about writing code. It’s about building something people trust with their time, money, and travel dreams. Here’s how you do it, step-by-step, without the corporate fluff.
Before you touch a line of code, figure out who you’re building for. Are you helping backpackers find cheap hostels? Creating a hub for local eco-tours? Or going all-in on luxury escapes?
Dig into travel trends. See where other platforms fall short. Your niche gives your platform direction—and keeps your features from turning into a bloated mess.
This is where money comes into play. Choose a model that fits your goals and audience:
Whatever path you pick, get real about vendor onboarding, marketing costs, and how you’ll earn without burning out.
Now it’s time to make things pretty and usable. Tools like Figma or Adobe XD help map the entire flow—from the search bar to the final checkout screen.
Focus on what users care about: quick load times, zero confusion, and mobile layouts that don’t break. A clean interface builds trust faster than any fancy feature.
Break your dev process into bite-sized sprints. Two to three weeks per sprint is the sweet spot. That way, you can build your travel website feature by feature—and pivot if needed.
Start with:
Keep things simple at first. Fancy can come later.
Here’s where things get real. To build a travel website that functions like Expedia, you need real-time access to flights, hotels, and car rentals.
Plug into APIs like:
They do the heavy lifting on inventory. Add Google Maps to give users a better feel for where they’re booking.
Think of testing like your pre-flight checklist. One glitch in the checkout flow? That’s a customer lost.
Run tests for:
This step might not be exciting—but skipping it is expensive.
Once you’re ready to go live, you’ll need cloud hosting that can handle spikes—especially during peak travel seasons.
Use platforms like:
Set up continuous deployment, and use tools like Datadog or New Relic to catch issues before your users do.
Launch day isn’t the end—it’s just the first leg of the trip. You’ll need regular updates to keep things fresh and functioning.
Keep improving. Your users will notice—and they’ll stick around.
Building a travel booking website involves multiple cost factors—design, development, third-party integrations, and post-launch support. Based on real project data from 2024–2025, here’s what you can expect to invest.
| Component | Cost Range | Details |
| UI/UX Design | $3,000 – $7,000 | Includes wireframes, visual design, and responsive layouts. |
| Core Development | $10,000 – $40,000 | Frontend, backend, admin panels, vendor dashboards. |
| API Integrations | $5,000 – $15,000 | Amadeus, Skyscanner, Stripe, Google Maps, etc. |
| QA & Testing | $2,000 – $5,000 | Functional, performance, and security testing. |
| Monthly Support | $1,000+ (ongoing) | Bug fixes, feature updates, uptime monitoring. |
One of our recent clients—an EU-based travel startup—launched an MVP in under 12 weeks with a $32,000 budget. Their platform included hotel search, booking, Stripe payments, and vendor onboarding. Within 5 months, they scaled to over 10,000 monthly users and are now working with our team to integrate loyalty points and referral tracking.
Launching a travel website like Expedia sounds exciting—until the technical curveballs start flying. Below are four issues most founders hit early, and how you can stay a step ahead with the right tools and approach.
1. API Rate Limits That Kill Your Momentum
Problem: Travel APIs like Sabre and Amadeus are great—until they throttle you. Request caps, slow response times, and surprise fees can mess with your user experience.
Solution:
This avoids sticker shock on your API bill and keeps the booking flow snappy.
2. Trust Issues (That Actually Matter)
Problem: If your platform looks sketchy or leaks data, users won’t stick around—let alone enter their card details.
Solution:
Security isn’t something you bolt on later. Bake it in from day one.
3. Site Slows to a Crawl Under Load
Problem: Traffic spikes are a blessing—until your servers buckle and bounce rate skyrockets.
Solution:
Users won’t wait. You’ve got maybe two seconds—make them count.
4. No One’s Booking (Because There’s Nothing to Book)
Problem: You can’t grow without listings. And you can’t get listings without traction. Classic chicken-and-egg.
Solution:
Start small. Nail the experience. Growth will follow.
If you’re planning to build a website like Expedia, these aren’t just nice-to-knows. They’re dealbreakers if you don’t address them early. The right move at the right time can save you weeks—and thousands of dollars down the line.
Choosing how you make money isn’t just about margins—it’s about matching your business stage and growth goals. Below are four battle-tested ways to monetize your travel platform, with real numbers so you know what’s possible.
1. Booking Commissions (Expedia-Style)
This approach scales fast. Great for hotels, flights, car rentals, and tours. If you're aiming to build a website like Expedia, this is the model to study first.
2. Featured Vendor Spots
Perfect for a platform that’s gaining traction. You give visibility, they pay for eyeballs.
3. Affiliate Booking Links
This works best early on, while you’re testing traffic or figuring out which features stick.
4. SaaS Licensing (For Agencies or B2B Travel Brands)
It’s a solid pivot if you're looking to develop a website like Expedia—then productize it for others.
You’re not the only one trying to build a travel website. But most sites look the same, act the same, and offer the same cookie-cutter features. If you want people to notice (and remember) your platform, here’s how you do it.
1. Smart Personalization With AI
Want to impress users from the first visit? Use AI to make them feel like your platform “gets” them.
Show repeat travelers the same hotel chain. Suggest Bali instead of Thailand based on previous searches. Recommend direct flights over layovers.
Example: WayAway uses AI to surface flight deals based on a user’s booking habits. And it works—they’ve built a loyal following around it.
2. Bookings via Voice or Chat
Here’s a wild stat: 71% of Gen Z prefers voice assistants over typing. If you're looking to develop a website like Expedia, voice search can't be an afterthought.
Let users say, “Book me a hotel in Lisbon” and have it done. Example: HelloGbye made waves with their early voice-powered OTA—proof that being first doesn’t need a massive team.
3. Green Travel = Growth
If you're not offering eco-options, you’re already behind. Sustainability isn't a trend—it’s a filter many travelers use to make decisions. Add labels for green-certified stays. Offer credits for low-emission routes. Include a simple carbon offset calculator at checkout.
Example: Goodwings lets travelers pick hotels based on climate impact—no guilt trip required.
4. Build a Travel Tribe, Not Just a Booking Engine
People trust people. Create a space where reviewers share tips, memories, and stories—not just reviews with stars.
Publish local guides. Share video diaries. Invite users to post their own travel hacks. Example: Culture Trip nailed this. They built a following with content first—then layered bookings in later.
Building a travel platform like Expedia takes more than code and capital. You need a sharp focus, a stack that can scale, and a business model that doesn’t bleed cash.
But here’s the real kicker: You don’t have to be Expedia.
You just have to outsmart them in your niche.
Whether that’s adventure travel, eco getaways, or curated experiences for digital nomads—you know your users better than a global OTA ever could. That’s your edge. That’s how you win.
Right now, there’s white space for travel sites that move faster, feel smarter, and solve problems bigger players miss. Especially if you bake in things like AI, real personalization, or purpose-led features from day one.
We’ve helped founders go from “idea on a napkin” to platforms running across 20+ countries. From first wireframe to launch, we’ve seen what works—and what quietly crashes and burns.
📞 Want a gut check or a game plan? Grab a free call with our team and learn how to build a travel website that actually takes off.
How much does it cost to build a travel website like Expedia?
The cost to build a travel website runs anywhere from $25,000 to $80,000+. On the low end, you can expect to spend $25K–$35K for an MVP with basic search and booking. Add in real-time APIs, secure payments, dashboards, and admin tools—and the price climbs to $50K or more. The final number depends on what you're building, who’s building it, and how deep your integrations go.
What APIs do travel sites use?
Here’s a list of APIs commonly used to build websites like Expedia:
Choose your stack based on what you plan to sell—and how much you want to automate.
How long does it take to develop a travel platform?
Building an OTA site takes 12 to 24 weeks, depending on how deep the feature set goes. A no-frills MVP with search, filters, and booking logic usually lands around 3 to 4 months. If you want dashboards, vendor tools, and custom flows, block off at least 6 months. Plan for fast feedback loops and flexibility.
Do I need to partner directly with airlines or hotels?
Not right away. Platforms like Amadeus, Sabre, and Booking.com let you tap into thousands of listings without cold-emailing every hotel on the planet. But as you grow, striking direct deals can mean better margins, priority listings, and more control over the user experience.
Can I start with an MVP and expand later?
Absolutely. Some of the best OTAs out there started small. An MVP lets you get in front of users fast, test your assumptions, and figure out what actually works. Use cloud tools and modular builds so you’re not painting yourself into a corner when it’s time to grow.
