The job cuts at Kayak and OpenTable represent the first reported layoffs and furloughs at parent company Booking Holdings growing out of the coronavirus crisis other than for 48 contractors at Booking.com whose agreements weren't renewed. Few travel companies will emerge unscathed so it wouldn't be surprising if more cuts were coming at other Booking brands.
Government relief or not, if a substantial coronavirus recovery doesn't take shape by June, it's hard to believe that Booking Holdings won't execute substantial layoffs like everyone else. Perhaps the crisis, too, will spur new discussions about enormous pay gaps between CEOs and their workers.
Oyo put in place a substantial number of furloughs — likely in the thousands — and there are probably many more to come after the India lockdown ends. The Oyo that emerges will look different than the rocket ship of a year ago. Withdrawing from certain markets will certainly have to be under consideration.
Will hotel direct-booking campaigns be in play after the coronavirus crisis? That's a side issue that online travel agencies and hotels would love to have to deal with at some point. In the interim, they are facing more existential questions.
It's fairly certain that many Marriott International-affiliated properties will never reopen. CEO Arne Sorenson is showing leadership in being candid about the tough measures the hotel chain has to take to emerge with a business worth running when coronavirus hopefully fades.
Whether building tours and activities or vacation rentals, acquiring companies soon find out that this stuff isn't as easy as it looked. From confidential internal documents obtained by Skift, it's clear Booking.com found out that scaling experiences on its own wouldn't be a cakewalk, and it's turning to Musement to kick off a preferred partnership strategy instead.