Booking Holdings

Tune in to hear Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans talk about how the company is trying to build products that meet higher consumer expectations.

HomeAway president John Kim, after a manner, is trying to turn HomeAway into the type of company that Airbnb is -- one that is focused on technology improvements and a great user experience. In many ways, Kim has the tougher job. He isn't starting from scratch, as Airbnb did, but is attempting to spur changes in a company that has been around since 2005 and grew through a flurry of acquisitions.

Booking.com, which does more than 1,000 A/B tests daily, is testing a rewards program for business travelers, but CEO Gillian Tans still believes that true loyalty is more about delivering its core product for customers than points and rewards schemes.

As Booking.com knows, if companies don't innovate quickly -- and learn from the experience -- they'll die.

Booking.com displaced Southwest's long-time hotel partner, Orbitz, on Southwest.com. Booking.com's pay-at-the-hotel system meshes much better with Southwest's flexible fare structure than did Orbitz's preponderous hotel bookings requiring prepayment. Booking.com's integration of its Rocketmiles acquisition on Southwest now makes total sense.

Direct booking is not really a war where one side must lose. Both the large hotel chains and online travel agencies could wind up better off if they act rationally on pricing.

Glenn Fogel is the heir apparent, even if he is the first time CEO. Fogel knows the company and the industry's competitive dynamics as well as anyone on earth and played a huge role in getting the Group to the top of the heap.

TripAdvisor selling travel to Cuba is just another step towards the mainstreaming of Cuba as a U.S. tourist destination, and represents a coup for TripAdvisor as it tries to ramp up its bookings business.

It's not around the corner but you can expect China's Ctrip to set up shop to compete against online and offline travel giants in the U.S. Breaking in through acquisition would be an obvious strategy although it's unclear whether that's actually part of Ctrip's seemingly very active strategic plan.

Humanize the travel booking experience and listen in on 5 strategic imperatives for brands looking to create more authentic, human-centric travel experiences. Register for the webinar today!