Not Just for Hotels — Booking Holdings Has a Direct Strategy of Its Own
Photo Credit: Pictured is a still from Booking.com's Water Sports TV ad. The company thinks TV advertising will be key to win customer allegiances and capture more direct bookings. Booking Holdings
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With less fanfare than hotels, but with a ton of TV spend, Booking Holdings is intent on increasing its share of direct bookings. Anything that gets in its way, including metasearch sites that go out of favor, will be collateral damage.
Not to be outdone by hotel chains, which have mounted protracted direct-booking campaigns over the last few years, Booking Holdings sees attracting more direct bookings and winning customer loyalties as key elements of its strategy.
While Booking Holdings chief financial officer David Goulden told financial analysts Wednesday that the direct channel is already the company's largest, CEO Glenn Fogel added that the mix of direct bookings are mounting.
"Direct is growing and we are very pleased with that growth rate," Fogel said.
Increasing the portion of its marketing spend devoted to brand advertising
