Booking.com News

As a global leader in online accommodations and travel services, Booking.com continues to shape the digital travel experience through innovation, platform evolution, and strategic partnerships. PhocusWire delivers the latest Booking.com news to keep industry professionals informed on how this travel giant is adapting to shifting market dynamics and consumer expectations.

Key Booking.com updates, partnerships, and market trends

Follow developments in Booking.com’s core technology, loyalty strategies, and supplier relationships, along with its expansion into flights, experiences, and payments. Our reporting covers how the brand is responding to competitive pressures, regulatory environments, and the increasing demand for seamless, personalized travel.

Booking.com scraps standalone Booking Now late hotel app
News / Technology
Booking.com scraps standalone Booking Now late hotel app
By Kevin May | September 26, 2016
Booking.com has axed its Booking Now mobile app after 20 months in service, although it says last-minute hotels bookings are continuing to grow. The Priceline Group-owned hotel booking giant launch Read More
TripAdvisor and Booking.com take half of luxury hotel reviews on the web
News / Online
TripAdvisor and Booking.com take half of luxury hotel reviews on the web
By Kevin May | September 5, 2016
It is probably no surprise that TripAdvisor commands such a large portion of online hotel reviews - but Booking.com is chasing its tale. At least this is the case of hotels identified in the "luxur Read More
Australia gives hotels more leeway to compete with Expedia and Booking.com
News / Distribution
Australia gives hotels more leeway to compete with Expedia and Booking.com
By Kevin May | September 2, 2016
Another nail in the parity coffin, perhaps, following an Australian regulator's move to restrict rate contracts by Booking.com and Expedia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says, Read More
THack China: Gamification, augmented reality, wearables, and more
News / Technology
THack China: Gamification, augmented reality, wearables, and more
By Gene Quinn | August 29, 2016
For anyone in the travel game who’s living in the Old World economy and the pre-mobile interweb economy, fasten your seatbelts. The gamified, personalized future of travel shopping and a New World Read More
Direct hotel bookings, loyalty and the clandestine world of closed user groups
News / Technology
Direct hotel bookings, loyalty and the clandestine world of closed user groups
By Viewpoints | August 26, 2016
Loyalty schemes have been front and centre in advertising campaigns from the large hotel chains this year, as they look to increase their proportion of direct bookings. One notable aspect of this i Read More
Direct hotel booking battle - a potted history [INFOGRAPHIC]
News / Distribution
Direct hotel booking battle - a potted history [INFOGRAPHIC]
By Kevin May | August 23, 2016
The seeds of the current face-off between hotels and intermediaries go back to the mid-1990s, when online travel agencies first arrived on the scene. The creation of Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, L Read More
Corporate travel tech takeaways from GBTA, according to TripBAM
News / Technology
Corporate travel tech takeaways from GBTA, according to TripBAM
By Viewpoints | August 9, 2016
Last month's GBTA Convention in Denver was an informative mix of the familiar and the fresh, with established players rubbing shoulders with startups and disruptors. NB This is a viewpoint by Steve Read More
Priceline heralds Booking.com's one million reservations in a single day
News / Technology
Priceline heralds Booking.com's one million reservations in a single day
By Juliana Shallcross | August 4, 2016
The Priceline Group's second-quarter results beat expectations, despite recent terrorist attacks and political instability in Europe, as well as competition from major hotel chains and their direct bo Read More
Direct now cheaper than agencies for majority of hotel searches
News / Distribution
Direct now cheaper than agencies for majority of hotel searches
By Kevin May | August 4, 2016
Maybe the regulatory restrictions are starting to get through, or something else - data-crunching has shown that 53% of rates are now cheaper on hotel websites than intermediaries. Checks on over 2 Read More
Travel agency group hits back at European hotels over distribution criticism
News / Distribution
Travel agency group hits back at European hotels over distribution criticism
By Kevin May | July 27, 2016
European hotels should consider the effort that online travel agencies put into the marketplace before rubbishing the system. That's the strong response from the European Technology and Travel Serv Read More
Booking.com and Expedia take four out of five agency bookings in Europe
News / Distribution
Booking.com and Expedia take four out of five agency bookings in Europe
By Kevin May | July 27, 2016
More evidence of a so-called duopoly coming into play as Expedia and Booking.com land 80% of all European hotel sales on online travel agencies. European hospitality association HOTREC estimates th Read More
Two travel brands make it to list of 300 top websites on the planet
News / Technology
Two travel brands make it to list of 300 top websites on the planet
By Kevin May | July 21, 2016
Languishing within in a pile of 300 search engines, porn portals, entertainment hubs and retailers are just two travel websites. Booking.com and TripAdvisor feature in the list of the most popular Read More
Canadian online travel consolidation as iTravel2000 sells to RedTag
News / Distribution
Canadian online travel consolidation as iTravel2000 sells to RedTag
By Kevin May | July 21, 2016
The mid-tier online travel agency market in Canada has got smaller this week with the acquisition of iTravel2000 by Red Label Holdings. Red Label is the parent company behind rival OTA RedTag, as w Read More
Austrian regulators crack down on online travel agency parity clauses
News / Distribution
Austrian regulators crack down on online travel agency parity clauses
By Kevin May | July 19, 2016
Officials in Austria have moved to introduce legislation that will prevent online travel agencies from demanding hotels only offer rates at the same or higher price. Parity clauses have existed bet Read More
Booking.com dips toe in waters of attraction tickets, under the guise of AI platform
News / Technology
Booking.com dips toe in waters of attraction tickets, under the guise of AI platform
By Kevin May | July 14, 2016
Booking.com has finally moved into the complex world of tours and activities with the pilot of a new service on its mobile app. Until now, the Priceline Group-operated hotel giant has worked with t Read More
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