Twenty years later, Google is the leading global player in travel metasearch. Steve Hafner can do little about that but argues travelers can snack on Google but they should come to Kayak for better results when they are ready to book.
One challenge for struggling travel SPACs beyond their stock prices is to create something new that's truly valuable to their customers. Booking.com did just that years ago, although others have caught up in the interim.
The problem surfaced in late Summer — Booking.com's short-term rental hosts in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America cited financial hardships because the company wasn't paying them for guest stays.
Despite his frustration with the European Commission blocking Booking Holdings' deal with the eTraveli Group, Glenn Fogel maintains his company will still build out its flight business. Watch him address that and more during his recent appearance at Skift Global Forum.
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel cited the "explosion of interest" in generative AI (artificial intelligence), but counseled that it would be prudent to be patient about delivering on its promises.
In an era today when investors place a high value on profitability, our oral history of short-term rentals includes regrets from those who were too risk-averse to grab an opportunity.
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.