Articles tagged “booking holdings”

In some ways, Trivago and TripAdvisor find themselves in similar situations, although TripAdvisor has more upside because of its global brand awareness and the breadth of its offerings. But both need time to play the long game. In Trivago's case, it is now seeing alternative accommodations as a potential life line.

With less fanfare than hotels, but with a ton of TV spend, Booking Holdings is intent on increasing its share of direct bookings. Anything that gets in its way, including metasearch sites that go out of favor, will be collateral damage.

Agoda's new CEO John Brown will be leading the company to increasingly push into Europe and the Americas, beyond its traditional online travel agency turf of Asia Pacific. The early numbers show that parent company Booking Holdings is putting its money where its mouth is.

Chinese outbound travel continues to boom and shows high potential for future growth. Travel brands and destinations need to understand the evolving behaviors and preferences of Chinese travelers in order to most effectively appeal to this market.

There is no set formula on how to do it, but it's clear that the most progressive companies in travel are intent on reinventing their businesses, and value propositions. On the other hand, certain things that still work, like customer service and personalized hospitality, will survive the cut.

Whether the price tag on GetYourGuide was too much for Booking to admit, the tours and activities platform is likely still viewed as a viable buy for someone but that notion won't do much to calm GetYourGuide's nerves in the meantime.

Large travel corporations can't seem to get enough of the tours and activities space. It's one to watch as the year unfolds. Deals can be a great way to get a foot in the door, but don't forget to make sure there is a strategic fit — and, of course, that the price is right.

Only a couple of years ago, the CEO of family-owned activities distributor FareHarbor said the company would never sell. But never say never. For Booking Holdings, this is further proof that the giant wants to be full-service.

Booking.com has a test-and-learn culture, and chief marketing officer Pepijn Rijvers will be doing plenty of that over the next few years as he tries to sort out the complexities of marketing a widely diverse set of accommodation types. Ask anyone, though: It's a great problem to have.

Stocks go up and stocks go down. That's one of the perils of being a public company and exposing yourself to such pressures. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel expresses a commitment to focus on the long term regardless of short-term complications. If Airbnb goes public, it would have to deal with a similar dynamic.