Articles tagged “fareharbor”

Online Travel

Google Launches Attractions Tickets Globally on Mobile

Eventually, Google's new Tickets feature may turn out to be one of the most important developments in a long time for the tours and activities sector. Google will certainly move to monetize the feature with paid ads, and it will ultimately expand to tours, and other products, too.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 months ago

Mergers and Acquisitions

Booking Holdings CEO: We Can Replicate European Short-Term Rental Success in U.S.

Booking.com faces tough-going in U.S. short-term rentals. Its business model has hosts perceiving they pay lower commissions to Airbnb, and the latter is has a big brand advantage. At the same time, Booking.com needs to defend Airbnb incursions on its own European turf.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 7 months ago

Online Travel

Booking.com Relaunches a Scaled-Down Attractions Vertical Powered by TUI’s Musement

After missteps in thinking it could grow its own attractions business and catch larger competitors, Booking.com's relaunch is the next stage in its evolution. The tours and activities sector is a lot more competitive now than it was even two years ago when Booking acquired FareHarbor. Hence, the need to reboot.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 1 year ago

Business Travel

Booking.com Terminates Contracts With Tours and Attractions Operators

TUI/Musement's new strategic partnership with Booking.com has the potential to reshuffle the powers that be in tours and activities, especially in Europe. But TUI doesn't have a stellar track record in online offerings, and much of the promise will depend on its execution.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 1 year ago

Business Travel

Booking.com’s Challenges With Tours and Activities Lead to Musement Partnership

Whether building tours and activities or vacation rentals, acquiring companies soon find out that this stuff isn't as easy as it looked. From confidential internal documents obtained by Skift, it's clear Booking.com found out that scaling experiences on its own wouldn't be a cakewalk, and it's turning to Musement to kick off a preferred partnership strategy instead.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 2 years ago

Online Travel

The Battle Over Tours and Activities Reservation Systems Rages On

FareHarbor and Bokun act as if they're unstoppably on the way to becoming giants. But the market for booking systems for sightseeing and experience operators remains very much in flux.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 2 years ago

Business Travel

Booking Drops Hotel Requirement to Book Tours and Activities

Booking.com's hotel focus has given way to a strategy to serve travelers at every portion of the trip. TripAdvisor already does it, Expedia too. Airbnb is on that full-service road. So Booking.com will have plenty of company.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Business Travel

Booking’s FareHarbor Kept the Bootstrapping Myth Going While Discreetly Raising Outside Money

Honesty is the best policy. Even if it clashes with a nice FareHarbor bootstrapping story that seemed too good to be true.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Mergers and Acquisitions

Booking Holdings Bought HotelsCombined for Only $140 Million

Don't you just love those proverbial tuck-in acquisitions? Booking Holdings didn't break the bank for either HotelsCombined ($140 million) or FareHarbor ($250 million). Sometimes making smaller bets is a much smarter strategy than gargantuan deals, but only time will tell.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Online Travel

Why Everybody Now Wants a Piece of the Tours and Activities Sector

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.

Seth Borko, Skift Research | 4 years ago