Expedia’s Ex-COO Says Ad Fees Jumped After Google Remade Search

Advertising payments from Expedia Group Inc.’s vacation home rental business to Alphabet Inc.’s Google ballooned 10 times over a five-year period, but failed to increase traffic after the search engine started showcasing its own flight and hotel information, a former executive of the company told a federal judge.

About 500 million people visit Expedia’s Vrbo from Alphabet Inc.’s Google each year and that number didn’t increase even though the company’s search advertising costs grew from $21 million in 2015 to $290 million in 2019, according to Jeff Hurst, Expedia’s former chief operating officer.

With Google, “you are ...