Booking Holdings is a business undergoing more change in the last year or two than it has in the previous five.
Certainly the concept of the "connected trip" has energized its CEO Glenn Fogel on earnings calls since 2018 as the business attempts to shift away from siloed products, such as selling just hotel nights on the Booking.com division (which he now also runs following the move sideways of Gillian Tans earlier this year).
The addition of private accommodation, ground transportation, flights through a deal with European online travel agency eTraveli and activities have meant the flagship brand is becoming more of a travel platform.
Fogel, who spent the first third of his appearance onstage at this week's Phocuswright Conference angrily recounting his check-in experience at the event's hotel, talks about the progress of the connected trip strategy, as well as recent online travel agency-wide concerns about Google's real estate and its impact on search results.
The initial outburst, which was greeted with a fair amount of shock by the audience of over 1,500 attendees at the event, also included a related view on resort fees.
See below for the full interview with Phocuswright's Lorraine Sileo.
Executive Interview: Booking Holdings - The Phocuswright Conference 2019