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.

Priceline Group's studied approach to China
News / Distribution
Priceline Group's studied approach to China
By Viewpoints | September 14, 2015
Priceline Group now has over 500 employees based in China, 10 offices across the country with another two planned to open towards the end of the year. NB This is a guest article by Ritesh Gupta, a Read More
Marriott finally finds a use for a top-level domain extension
News / Online
Marriott finally finds a use for a top-level domain extension
By Kevin May | September 7, 2015
Seems like an (internet) age ago, but 2011 and 2012 saw a huge marketing campaign for businesses to buy additional web domains. The idea was supposed to be quite simple: web naming regulator Icann Read More
Turning vacation pics into GIFs, Booking.com lunges for marketing gold
News / Technology
Turning vacation pics into GIFs, Booking.com lunges for marketing gold
By Sean O'Neil | August 24, 2015
Booking.com, the hotel reservation giant owned by Priceline Group, has come up with a clever marketing campaign that helps users transform their vacation shots into GIFs, or animated, looping short vi Read More
Booking.com has no ambitions for corporate travel beyond hotels
News / Distribution
Booking.com has no ambitions for corporate travel beyond hotels
By Kevin May | August 18, 2015
There was a degree of curiosity a few months back when Booking.com unveiled its Booking.com For Business service. The idea is that travel managers can search and make reservations for Booking.com-h Read More
Tripping, the metasearch for vacation rentals, adds on-site booking
News
Tripping, the metasearch for vacation rentals, adds on-site booking
By Sean O'Neil | August 11, 2015
Tripping says it is the first metasearch for vacation rentals to enable reservations facilitated within its own user interface. Booking.com, the hotel reservations giant, was the first company to p Read More
Deep dive into last-minute online hotel booking habits
News / Technology
Deep dive into last-minute online hotel booking habits
By Kevin May | July 29, 2015
Let's face it, before HotelTonight and chums came along the big boys of online travel had probably never even considered carving out a niche for last-minute hotel bookings. Or if they had, they dis Read More
How to list your Airbnb-style homestay on Booking.com
News / Distribution
How to list your Airbnb-style homestay on Booking.com
By Sean O'Neil | July 15, 2015
On Monday, Tnooz reported that Booking.com, the online travel agency giant owned by Priceline Group, has begun listing homestays. The company has since revealed to us more details about the program. Read More
Priceline offshoot Villas.com starts spreading the affiliate love
News / Online
Priceline offshoot Villas.com starts spreading the affiliate love
By Kevin May | July 13, 2015
Following in the footsteps of its sister brand Booking.com, sister vacation rental site Villas.com is starting to spread its wings to third parties. The Priceline Group-owned brand was unveiled wit Read More
Silently debuting homestays, Booking.com jabs Airbnb
News / Distribution
Silently debuting homestays, Booking.com jabs Airbnb
By Sean O'Neil | July 13, 2015
Booking.com, the online travel agency giant owned by Priceline Group, has begun listing homestays. These accommodations don't come from Booking's traditional vacation rental inventory. A majority o Read More
Everything you need to know about Demand Generation for hotels
News / Online
Everything you need to know about Demand Generation for hotels
By Viewpoints | July 9, 2015
Demand generation has always been important to hotels, why else have sales departments? NB: This is an anaylsis by Max Rayner, a partner at Hudson Crossing. But lately it has gone from a functio Read More
Expedia joins Booking.com to scale back on hotel rate parity
News / Distribution
Expedia joins Booking.com to scale back on hotel rate parity
By Kevin May | July 1, 2015
Expedia is to axe clauses relating to rate parity in contracts with all its European hotel customers. In what could be seen as another landmark moment in the ongoing rate parity debate in Europe, E Read More
Booking.com to amend parity terms - closure or a can of worms?
News / Distribution
Booking.com to amend parity terms - closure or a can of worms?
By Linda Fox | June 25, 2015
Booking.com says it will amend its rate parity clauses across Europe by July 1 in line with commitments given to competition authorities in France, Italy and Sweden in April. The Priceline-owned ac Read More
French parliament kills rate parity, and Booking predicts hotel price war
News / Distribution
French parliament kills rate parity, and Booking predicts hotel price war
By Sean O'Neil | June 19, 2015
On Thursday, the French National Assembly moved to cancel rate parity clauses in contracts between hotels and online travel agencies (OTAs). Violators will be fined up to Euro 150,000. The next ste Read More
Priceline acquires PriceMatch, adds revenue management to hotel tech arsenal [UPDATED]
News / Distribution
Priceline acquires PriceMatch, adds revenue management to hotel tech arsenal [UPDATED]
By Kevin May | May 15, 2015
UPDATE: We have now learned that PriceMatch did not take the $9 million funding round in February this year, despite claims to the contrary. PriceMatch, when asked about a potential Priceline Gr Read More
The fight for hotel bookings - direct vs online travel agencies
News / Distribution
The fight for hotel bookings - direct vs online travel agencies
By Viewpoints | May 15, 2015
If I were to look at the world through the lens of Expedia and Booking.com, I would probably argue that my biggest competitors are not other OTAs or suppliers, but the hotels themselves. NB: This i Read More
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