Booking Holdings Faces a Hotel Chain Challenge in U.S. Competition With Expedia
Photo Credit: Booking Holdings are battling one another — and hotels — in the battle for U.S. market share. Pictured are Expedia Group CEO Mark Okerstrom (left) and Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel. Skift / Buy Tourism Online
Skift Take
Booking.com has been making strides in the U.S. market for several years, but the challenges are formidable. Expedia is outspending Booking.com on U.S. TV, and then there is Airbnb to throw into the equation.
When Booking.com tries to make up ground against Expedia, the leading online travel agency in the U.S. in terms of market share, the Europe-based booking site faces several challenges, including the composition of the U.S. hotel market.
After all, Amsterdam-headquartered Booking.com became the largest global accommodations site because it could offer consumer demand and services largely to independent hotels, particularly in Europe.
But the United States is another story — a hotel chain story.
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel addressed some of these challenges about facing off against Expedia and making gains in the United States earlier this month at a Nasdaq investor conference in London.
Fogel mentioned that the United States probably has the largest percentage of chain hotels, making the market dynamic different for Booking.com than what it confronts elsewhere.
Chains Aren't Its Sweet Spot
"The larger the hotel, the more sophisticated the hotel, the less value we br
