Booking CEO: Here's Our Edge Over Expedia and Airbnb
Skift Take
Executives at Booking Holdings, formerly the Priceline Group, feel aggrieved that the company isn't getting the credit it deserves in alternative accommodations. In a lot of ways, its battle with Airbnb is over business models. As Airbnb ramps up hotels, we'll have to see who blinks.
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel acknowledged that the company wants to be "a leader or the leader" in alternative accommodations and he obliquely cast doubt on Airbnb's inventory claims.
During Tuesday's fourth quarter earnings call for Booking Holdings, formerly called the Priceline Group, Fogel said he doesn't know for sure but has heard that some services that boast of huge property counts haven't seen some of them booked in the past 12 months — or ever.
A San Francisco Chronicle story gives credence to the notion that short-term rental sites, such as Airbnb, Flipkey, HomeAway, and others, have plenty of dormant listings. After San Francisco began requiring hosts to register with the city, more than half of the listings were expunged, although Airbnb lost the smallest percentage among the other players, the story said.
Numerous hosts had listed their properties in the hopes of getting
