Priceline CEO on Why Restaurants Are the Next Frontier for the Travel Giant
Skift Take
The Priceline Group saw a big growth opportunity in the global restaurant business, and believes it can put OpenTable's international expansion on steroids, although the buzzwords are that it must be sustainable growth. There will be synergies with other Priceline Group companies, but that is considered just icing on the cake.
With the Priceline Group announcing its intention to acquire OpenTable for $2.6 billion, Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston spoke about some of the synergies, but said Priceline has a "strong and aggressive" plan to spearhead OpenTable's growth internationally in its own right.
Asked whether the OpenTable acquisition is part of a broader Priceline Group strategy (such as Booking.com focusing on restaurants, for example) Huston said although the Priceline Group looks at all aspects of travel, it sees restaurants as an attractive opportunity on it
