It’s “shaping up to be a good year” for Expedia, according to the company’s chief executive, despite the online travel agency (OTA) reporting an 18 percent drop in profits.

Higher expenses have impacted Expedia’s bottom line, the OTA investing in new technology and content spending, Reuters reported.

However, it is this expenditure that will see the OTA into the future, an analyst saying, "there is evidence that [Expedia is] starting to see the benefits of that [investment] play out".

Strong hotel bookings across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas resulted in room night bookings growing by 17 percent compared to the same period last year.

Expedia chief executive and president Dara Khosrowshahi said room nights were “accelerating nicely” at a “materialistic” pace.

“We saw ongoing strength in our hotel business with room night growth accelerating across all major regions,” he said.