From “Book a flight”
to “Where to?”

The December 1998 page belongs to Microsoft. The logo block reads msn above Expedia Travel, an orange menu bar lists Home page, Travel agent, Magazine, Maps, Resources, Communicate, Find and Help, and a link in the corner says go to msn.com. Microsoft had launched Expedia at expedia.msn.com in October 1996, for flights, hotels and cars.^[1]

You booked online, but the ticket could still come in an envelope. Expedia's launch announcement says tickets are sent by first-class or Express Mail. You could also pick them up at the airport ticket counter, or fly on an e-ticket.^[1]

The 1998 fare finder is honest about its limits: This search is limited to adult roundtrip coach fares. The HTML prefills the dates, 12/23/98 and 12/25/98: departure exactly three weeks after the capture, then two nights away. Further down the code, after Not a U.S. resident?, the page lists Australia, Canada, UK and Other, and a link to Germany is commented out, with temp as its address.

The April 1999 capture swaps the orange bar for a blue one, adds Deals and Places to Go, and drops Resources and Communicate. Same three links, same rule: the prefilled trip is 5/15/99 to 5/17/99, three weeks out and two nights long.

By August 2000 the MSN logo is gone from the top of the page. In its place is a globe-and-plane emblem and the word Expedia.com, above a yellow Home tab and blue tabs for flights, hotels, cars, packages, cruises, destinations & interests and maps. Microsoft is down to a small msn.com link in the left column. The company's own history says the name combines two words, exploration and speed.^[3]

The non-U.S. list now reads Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, Other. The country that was commented out in 1998 is on the page.

This is a travel portal. A Price Matcher box asks you to name your price, a news column offers Beat this summer's air traffic jam, and the left column holds a list of TRAVELER TOOLS, compared in the dialog below. In June 2001 a Traveler Alert box points to Airline strike central: News and advice, beside the Express Search form.

The June 2002 capture puts the search in a yellow box called BUILD YOUR OWN TRIP, with five little icons (Flights, Hotels, Cars, Cruises, Packages) and a sticker that says Book together and save! Around it the portal is still busy. A TRAVELER ALERT reports that Aer Lingus cancels service through Tuesday.

The code has its own notes. A comment reads ad goes here!, and another prints the path of the file on Expedia's server: e:\webroot\expus\daily\home\Default.asp. At the bottom of the page a small Visit msn.com link is what remains of Microsoft on this homepage.

Our August 2007 capture is blue. Three tall panels stand side by side, Build your trip, Plan your trip and Shop for deals, and the logo is still the globe with Expedia.com. The search panel has radio buttons for Flight, Hotel, Car, Cruise and Activities, plus four bundles under Book together & save!

Above it all is a yellow notice from Expedia itself. Browser issue detected, it says, and explains that the visitor's browser settings are limiting how the site looks and behaves, with a link to Show me how to enable cookies.

Browsers were Expedia's worry from day one. The 1996 launch announcement asked for Internet Explorer 3.0 or a browser that supports HTML 3.0, HTML tables, HTML frames and JavaScript.^[1] The 2007 small print adds two dated details: Traveler alert: New passport requirements, and a promise to Always get the lowest price or a $50 coupon.

By our June 2008 capture the logo has dropped the .com: a bold Expedia next to the globe and plane. The middle panel sells a VACATION SALE and INDIANA JONES TRAVEL EXPERIENCES, with a film poster marked IN THEATERS NOW. A Travel Alerts box warns that multiple airlines now charge $15 for the first checked bag.

May 2009 is louder about money. A NO FEES! tag hangs over the Flights tab, and the deals column shouts FREE NIGHTS & NO-FEE FLIGHTS. Travel Weekly reported on May 27, 2009, that Expedia had made the removal of its own online flight booking fees permanent.^[4] The Travel Alerts box now reads Flu advisory for Mexico travel.

Then the odd detail. The hotel search on this capture is already filled in with Freetown, Sierra Leone (FNA-Lungi Intl.), and the HTML stores the same text in a hidden field called LsAtlas. The capture doesn't say who searched for Freetown.

On January 6, 2010, Expedia.com announced a new tagline, Where you book matters., and a new logo by the design agency LPK that kept the globe and the plane.^[6] Our June 2010 capture shows both: a teal globe with a yellow plane, and in the left column a yellowed note card that repeats the tagline in handwriting-style lettering, with four checkmarks.

The same announcement lists the tools behind the slogan. One of them, Deal Finder, delivers attractive destination deals to a Google home page.^[6]

A year later the tagline is the title of the search panel itself, in white script on dark navy. Underneath, WHY IT PAYS TO BOOK WITH EXPEDIA lists three reasons, one of them No Expedia booking fees on single-carrier flights. The menu has gained Like us on Facebook, and a sign-up box pairs the Groupon and Expedia logos.

The June 2012 page reorganizes around PLAN YOUR TRIP ON EXPEDIA, a large form with a yellow sticker: SAVE UP TO $525* on Flight + Hotel. Beside it, an ad announces Cars Land NOW OPEN at Disneyland. A Facebook Like button in the menu bar shows 1.2m, and a row called Expedia Everywhere offers the free mobile app on your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, plus Facebook and Twitter.

June 2013 keeps the form and the same sticker. The changes are around the edges: the Like counter reads 1.8m, the menu has a GROUPON Getaways tab, and the Twitter slot becomes Expedia find yours.

Our June 2014 capture shows the search as one flat, dark panel on a blue band. The choices run down the left in white: Flights, Hotels with Over 240,000 worldwide, Package Deals with four bundles, Cars, Cruises and Things to Do. A yellow Search button sits to the right, and the menu ends with Mobile: Get Triple Points.

The June 2015 capture is mostly sky. A palm tree and clouds fill the first screen under a yellow banner, NEW! Member-only pricing, and the search form turns up farther down.

By June 2016 the dark panel is back, now over a night photograph, with tabs that include Vacation Rentals and Search Anything. The app line has become Get TRIPLE points on the app., and the language links add 简体中文 next to Español.

From 2016 to 2019 the dark panel carries one number beside the Search button: Save up to $570 in 2016, Save up to $603 in 2017, Save up to $583 in 2018 and 2019, each followed by Book Flight + Hotel at the same time*. The 2017 capture adds a Discover tab and cuts the app offer to Get DOUBLE points on the app.

June 2018 puts misty blue mountains behind the form and Collections in the menu. May 2019 has a yellow header, the logo on that yellow, and a boxed button beside the account links: Add your property, a link for property owners.

The June 2020 capture keeps the yellow header and the dark panel, and adds two lines of pandemic small print. Inside the form: Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) travel advisories, some destinations may be unavailable for certain dates. Under it, a check mark says flexible service options may be available for bookings impacted by COVID-19. Then the page tries to cheer up: The world is a big place, with cards for Europe, Asia and South America.

June 2021 is a different design. The dark panel is gone; a white card sits on a beach photo, with Stays as the first tab and a blue Search button. A Travel Advisory above it says that so many customers are excited to travel again that call volumes are higher than normal. Below the beach, Here to help keep you on the move lists ways to change or cancel a trip, use a credit or coupon and track a refund.

In June 2022 a coastal photo carries a short promise: Traveling just got a little easier. The line under it explains why: COVID-19 tests are no longer required to re-enter the United States.

The June 2023 capture has the newest logo, a yellow square with an arrow in place of the globe and plane. The search card above the photo still asks Going to, and the banner sells The best time to book summer with Member Prices.

The chat went into the app. On April 4, 2023, Expedia announced a beta of ChatGPT-based trip planning in its iOS app, in English.^[7] None of the homepage screenshots on this page has a chat box.

By June 2024 the first field says Where to? A dark banner offers Member Prices and Learn about One Key, and Go beyond your typical stay sorts hotels by Resort, Spa, Cabin, Pet friendly and Hot tub. In May 2025 a strip asks you to Sign in to access One Key Member Prices, and one yellow card announces Cleared for takeoff: Southwest Airlines now on Expedia.

The March 2026 capture leads with a headline, The one place you go to go places, over a box with six picture tabs, Stays first. And the dates are filled in again. Captured on March 6, the form suggests Fri, Mar 20 - Sat, Mar 21, one night, two weeks out. In 1998 it was two nights, three weeks out, and only for adults flying coach.

1998 · Book a flight1998 · Then2026 · Where to?2026 · March

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In December 1998, three booking links sat above a small fare finder. In March 2026, the search box comes first.Microsoft Expedia Travel, 1998 → Expedia, March 2026