Additional Coverage:
- Uber adds hotel bookings and vacation rentals in push to become a one-stop shop for travel (nbcnews.com)
Uber Expands Travel Services with Hotel Bookings and Vacation Rentals
Uber announced on Wednesday that users will soon be able to book hotels directly through its app, signaling the company’s push to become a comprehensive travel platform. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described the app as “now an app for everything” during the product reveal.
In collaboration with Expedia Group, Uber will offer access to over 700,000 hotel listings within the app. Travelers will also receive timely reminders to schedule Uber rides and can order food or essential items like toothbrushes or phone chargers through Uber Eats “room service,” delivered straight to their hotel rooms.
The company aims to streamline travel by minimizing the number of apps users need to manage their trips. “This update just makes the app much easier for [the user], and they don’t have to go to multiple apps,” said Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer.
Later in the year, Uber plans to integrate vacation rental bookings from Vrbo, expanding accommodation options even further through a new partnership.
These enhancements are part of a broader strategy to grow Uber One, the company’s subscription service priced at $9.99 per month. Uber reported 46 million Uber One members at the end of 2025, marking a 55% increase from the previous year. Executives emphasize the subscription as a “key investment area” due to its ability to generate recurring revenue from loyal users.
Khosrowshahi highlighted the value of Uber One members, saying, “These members are super sticky, whether it’s ordering food or ordering groceries or getting a charger at Best Buy or getting an [autonomous vehicle] ride.”
Uber One subscribers benefit from credits earned on rides, car rentals, and Uber Eats orders. With the new hotel booking feature, users will receive 10% back in Uber credits, along with 20% discounts on hotel stays. “That cash back they can then use on rides as well as eats, so that’s going to be significant savings,” Kansal noted.
To further enhance user experience, Uber is consolidating its search functions into a single location within the app and plans to introduce voice command features soon.
This announcement follows several recent moves by Uber to broaden its services, including launching a new robotaxi to compete with Waymo, acquiring parking reservation platform SpotHero, and partnering with Joby Aviation for an all-electric air taxi service called Uber Air.
“Your interaction with Uber should be multimodal,” Kansal explained. “If you want to tap, you want to type, you want to search, or you want to use your voice, you should use what is the easiest for you in that moment.”