Articles tagged “connected trip”

Payments, flights and short-term rentals are paying off so far for Booking as part of its connected trip strategy. That's true even if there are doubts about travelers wanting to book their entire trip on one platform.

Booking Holdings' hoped-for acquisition of Etraveli Group is not a make or break deal for Booking, but its failure to close would be a setback for its connected trip strategy.

Booking Holdings and Hopper are attacking travelers' anxieties in wildly divergent ways. Booking is trying to soothe them, while Hopper doesn't mind a little angst if it means more fintech revenue.

Backed by significant travel demand, Booking.com is confident about travel returning to Asian destinations. However, China's quarantine and Japan's reopening trepidations stand in the way of a full recovery.

TUI Musement is an up-an-comer in the tours and activities space because of the parent company's huge base, and it knows how to run a tour. Now it has to execute on the digital challenge.

The vacation rental industry often touts the esprit de corps among industry lifers. Greeted with Booking.com ads for hosts at an Expedia partner conference in Sin City this week, Expedia officials weren't feeling that vibe.

As part of its "connected trip" and loyalty strategy, Booking Holdings argued it can convince hotels and other partners to offer up substantial discounts and perks, and this would spur incremental bookings. But do hotels really want to be a cog in building the Booking.com brand?

Shouldn't Booking.com have launched flights at least a decade ago? In retrospect, yes, but now it is making up for lost time, and the upside could be substantial.

Booking CEO Glenn Fogel's "connected trip" strategy has drawn critics, but he did make a compelling case for the need for it, and just how broken the travel experience still really is.

Tripadvisor's travel-planning help by text for Tripadvisor Plus subscribers plays to the company's strengths — user reviews and a global roster of hotels, restaurants and things to do listings. It really can't compete, though, with a real travel agent who has visited the destination and knows the hotel general manager personally.