Lastminute.com.au was established in Australia in 2000 and is owned by travel giant Expedia. (Source: Lastminute.com.au)
Iconic travel website Lastminute.com.au will cease operations in Australia after 25 years. The site, owned by global travel giant Expedia, was once the go-to destination for savvy Aussie travellers looking to nab a deal.
The travel website confirmed to customers it would stop accepting new bookings from June. This will be followed by a total shutdown of operations by November this year.
“We have made the decision to close the Lastminute.com.au website and app,” the company said.
“On 2nd June 2026 the Lastminute.com.au website and app will no longer be available to make new bookings but rest assured that this will not affect any existing bookings you have made through Lastminute.com.au.”
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The shutdown will be gradual, with new bookings until May 15 needing to be completed within the next nine months. After that, bookings must have travel completed by November 1.
“This change affects all travel options, including hotels, flights, car hire, packages, and activities,” the company said.
Customers will still be able to modify or cancel their reservations through the site. But after all trips have been made, access to Lastminute.com.au accounts will be shut down.
Lastminute.com.au was set up in Australia in 2000 following the success of the UK version, lastminute.com.
It was established as a joint venture between online travel agent travel.com.au and lastminute.com.
In 2007, travel.com.au spent a reported $4.75 million to buy out the 25.1 per cent stake in the company to take full control.
In 2008, Brisbane-based travel website Wotif acquired travel.com.au for $57 million, beating out rival Webjet. In 2014, Wotif was acquired by American travel giant Expedia for a whopping $703 million.
New bookings will now be directed to the parent site, Expedia.
Any existing bookings won’t be affected by the shutdown. (Source: Lastminute.com.au)
“Beginning 2nd June 2026 all new booking activity will be directed to Expedia, part of our family of brands along with Lastminute.com.au,” the company said.
“Expedia is where you can find and book your ideal holiday with the same ease and options you are used to with Lastminute.com.au.”
It comes after fellow travel website Booking.com advised some customers this week of a possible data and security breach by “unauthorised third parties”.
Information accessed could include booking details, names, emails, addresses, phone numbers and anything shared with the property. It is not known how many customers have been affected.