Articles tagged “priceline”

When Priceline.com decided to try to reinvigorate the brand, it studied the data: Travelers are taking shorter, more frequent trips, and many are booking them on mobile at the last-minute. Their customers are heading to Rome, Georgia more frequently to that other Rome where Vatican tours are available. The data called for a streamlined site and app emphasizing "deals near me," pay at the hotel, and easier-to-book products.

Don't downplay the importance of intangibles and narratives in the online travel business. Expedia won 2015. Booking.com won't sit back in 2016. In this transitional year in online travel and lodging on so many levels, you can expect that Booking.com will be heard from.

With Skyscanner's new funding and ample cash, the company sees itself as an acquirer over the next few months. Skyscanner believes a few modest acquisitions, increased marketing, and continued organic growth should do the trick. There won't be any quick, easy answers as this looks like a strategy for the long haul.

Travel-booking CEOs say the darnedest things: the Priceline Group's Darren Huston basically said he didn't waste $4 billion on acquiring HomeAway, like he thinks Expedia did, and Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi let the word out that his company had been shut out of TripAdvisor Instant Booking. One can only wonder what they are saying to one another when they huddle in private.

It is very attractive for Booking.com to abstain from charging travelers a booking fee on vacation rentals. But the lack thereof means Booking.com's commissions may not be competitive and shareholders will likely demand that Booking.com maximize the revenue opportunity and impose the booking fee.

Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston touts his company's organic growth versus Expedia Inc.'s strategy of mostly acquiring companies that need to be put back on track. Rest assured, however, that Priceline would plunk down a few billion dollars on the right acquisition target. It just wasn't HomeAway, and TripAdvisor and Airbnb are too expensive.

The latest revenue numbers from Airbnb explain why Expedia is acquiring HomeAway, the Priceline Group is touting its 21 million bookable rooms, and Wall Street analysts are questioning hotel-chain CEOs on the prospect of selling hotel rooms through Airbnb.

TripAdvisor wanted to keep the details secret. But the price for finally getting the Priceline Group/Booking.com into TripAdvisor Instant Booking was playing the online travel agency exclusivity card. Expedia is shut out for now and can join later. Will Book on Google play a similar game?

Understanding how Priceline.com turns lurkers into customers is key to gauging its success.

As this TripAdvisor-Priceline Group partnership takes off, observe it closely because it signals a new stage in earnest in travel bookings -- the real emergence of third-party sites such as TripAdvisor and perhaps Google at some juncture that were primarily media sites as real forces in travel transactions.