Booking.com Chooses OpenAI – Not Google Bard – for Generative AI Rollout

Affirm, the buy now, pay later vendor, now has both sides of what used to be called the online travel “duopoly” with its latest partner, Booking.com. The former duopoly, at least according to hotel industry critics, was Expedia Group and Booking Holdings. With the Thursday announcement that Booking.com customers would see Affirm’s buy now, pay later options at checkout when they are purchasing trips, Affirm now counts several Booking Holdings brands as partners, also including Agoda, Priceline and Kayak.

The European Commission is set to block Booking Holdings’ $1.8 billion deal to acquire Sweden’s eTraveli Group, a critically important transaction that’s been in limbo for nearly two years.

U.S. travelers will be able to book some flights right on Google for the time being to take advantage of a Google flight price guarantee, despite the shuttering of the Book on Google feature for flights internationally almost a year ago.

The State of Texas filed a lawsuit against Booking Holdings, alleging that it violates state law by marketing hotel rates in a deceptive manner because it doesn’t include a variety of fees when it initially displays room prices.

Google is one of the undisputed heavyweights in online travel. So when one of the key masterminds behind all of its travel platforms and products talks about where the search giant is heading, it’s worth paying attention to.

In an era when travelers see short-term rentals as an ever-more attractive choice, Booking.com’s mix of bookings for these types of accommodations on its platforms in the third quarter ticked up just “slightly” compared with 2019 to around 30 percent, the company said. Isn’t this an historic failure? Shouldn’t Booking.com be gaining more ground?

Google made changes to Google Flights and Hotels related to transparency in hotel reviews and pricing under pressure from the European Commission — but stopped short of making those modifications elsewhere in the world.

Airbnb expanded its law enforcement portal to nine languages as part of the platform’s efforts to fight child exploitation, the company said.

The old boys network in online travel — yes, let’s call it what it is — has reunited again to accomplish a formidable goal that has frustrated numerous startups in the past. The aim is to disrupt online cruise booking.

FareHarbor, the Booking Holdings’ tours and activities reservations tech platform, has a new CEO, Skift has learned.

It’s tough for a National Football League team to make a return trip in two consecutive years to the Super Bowl, but online travel company Booking.com will be doing just that with a fourth quarter advertisement during the telecast.

Can you imagine an easier application for generative AI than creating travel itineraries and in-destination tour plans, in particular? One way or another, Tripadvisor will have to deal with this emerging technology because it runs square into the company’s evolving turnaround strategy.