Articles tagged “opentable”

Airbnb will use and is investing in a relatively small dining reservations platform to test out how Airbnb will mesh with complementary services. Along with Airbnb Trips, dining reservations could be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Ctrip, when acquiring Skyscanner, should call up, or at least compare notes with, companies as varied as Sabre, Travelocity, the Priceline Group, and Expedia when mulling the challenges in integrating a new prized possession. These new playthings can in rare cases turn into the success of a Booking.com, but on the other hand they have the potential to wreak havoc.

There have long been rumblings that the OpenTable acquisition was problematic for the Priceline Group. Now we learn the depth of the problem -- a $941 million impairment charge.

OpenTable is upping its language skills, although it still is in the early stages of making its restaurant relationships more global.

If Google is using the "wisdom of the crowds" to determine how it arranges restaurant information in search results then in a lot of ways it believes professional reviews, and especially those from its Zagat franchise, trump user reviews. But when it gets down to displaying the text of diners' reviews, Google unfairly believes that its own consumer reviews are the fairest of them all.

OpenTable hasn't shown progress with international expansion as fast as its parent company, the Priceline Group, first anticipated. While the Group invests in revamping OpenTable's product, the app update is only available in certain English-speaking markets. It is building up user reviews and will have to get more multilingual to trigger more-robust growth.

As is the case with the Priceline Group's handling of Kayak, it is clear that Priceline isn't doubling down on investing in OpenTable. With Booking.com the parent company's overwhelming priority, the international growth of OpenTable will take place at a measured pace, opening opportunities for others.

Developments at OpenTable have been almost as quiet as a library while the restaurant reservations platform has been in investment mode. The acquisition of a dining reservations platform in Australia is obviously a geographic play.

Restaurants, attractions and vacation rentals are just 12 percent of TripAdvisor's revenue but that number is going to get a lot bigger in the future.

Travel tricks coming soon to a wrist near you.