Booking.com’s European Flight Partnership and 16 Other Top Digital Stories This Week
Photo Credit: A Ryanair plane prepares to land. Booking.com launched a flight partnership in seven European countries. Flickr / Jeroen Stroes
Skift Take
This week in digital news, Booking.com has launched a flight partnership in Europe, but travelers still have to go through a third-party site. Meanwhile, Agoda is starting to offer flights without the hassle of platform redirection.
Digital Travel News Weekly Roundup
Throughout the week we post dozens of original stories, connecting the dots across the travel industry, and every weekend we sum it all up. This weekend roundup examines digital trends. For all of our weekend roundups, go here.
Booking.com Launches Flights Through Partnership Across Europe: The Booking.com flight partnership with eTraveli doesn’t seem particularly seamless because travelers still have to hop over to a third-party site, Gotogate, to complete their reservations. Still, the deal is another step in Booking.com’s evolution from hotel-only provider in its early days to well-rounded online travel company.
Agoda Is Starting to Offer Flights to Take On Rivals in Asia: Flights are the next big thing for all of Booking Holdings’ accommodation platforms, not just Booking.com but Agoda and Priceline in Asia. In the region, where super-apps have taught consumers they can book everything on one app, and where even airlines want to be online travel agencies, it isn’t surprising Agoda is offering flights.
Did Airbnb’s Contrarian Narrative Just Get Messed Up? Airbnb is on a path toward spending as much as $2 billion in sales and marketing in 2019. When you consider that Airbnb will likely have
