Booking.com tips

Booking.com modified its sustainability program and will now help hotel partners obtain third-party sustainability certifications.

The growth of the U.S. vacation rental and short-term rental supply has been decelerating, and the trend will likely continue next year as some properties convert to long-term rentals because of an ongoing housing shortage.

In this episode of the Skift India Travel Podcast, Booking.com’s Country Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia, Santosh Kumar, and Skift Asia Editor, Peden Doma Bhutia, dive into the latest trends, insights, and initiatives in the travel industry. They focus on inclusivity and the evolving behaviors of Indian travelers.

A federal judge ruled Monday that Google used its grip on the general search engine market to raise prices for text ads with virtually no constraint — and that hits online travel companies hard.

There has been a resurgence in the use of travel agents since the pandemic – and even before – especially for luxury trips.

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said he’s disappointed that the company’s U.S. short-term rental portfolio doesn’t “have near the number or the type of home accommodations in the U.S. to be fully competitive.”

In 2014, Booking Holdings — then called the Priceline Group — warned analysts that the 29% room night growth it achieved in the second quarter that year would decelerate over time.

Spain’s competition authority in February levied a draft fine of $530 million against Booking.com, but issued a final ruling today lowering the penalty to around $446 million.

Expedia Group and Ryanair settled a long-running dispute, which will culminate in several months with Expedia customers being able to book the airline’s standalone flights and vacation packages “with a path to Ryanair,” the companies said.

Google, a key partner in the Prince Harry-founded Travalyst coalition, has been a leading authority on measuring airline emissions.

Last-minute travel sites have traditionally gained ground during challenging economic times.

The Big Three travel booking sites — Booking.com, Airbnb, and Expedia/Vrbo — all appear to be complying with California’s new junk fee transparency law. But they way they are doing it varies considerably.

When an online travel company has a fast-growing business unit, it usually doesn’t take much prodding to get officials to tout it. But that’s not the case with Booking Holdings and its nine-year old business unit, Booking.com for Business.

Airbnb said in 2021 that it had been taking “more aggressive action” to ban violent members of dangerous organizations. Its policies followed violent incidents and riots from the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017 to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, during which participants had stayed in Airbnbs.

People who visit Airbnb’s website and app in the U.S. first view the nightly rate and they can toggle to view the total price with all fees before taxes.

The IPO for online travel agency Ixigo saw demand for the shares it offered dramatically exceed the number of shares offered this week.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, June 6. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Booking.com is taking a U.S.-first approach, tapping into increasing demand for short-term rentals from families and international travelers.

Sports tourism is on a rise in India, with the country’s sports tourism market expected to be valued at nearly $53 billion in 2033, according to a report released by market research firm Future Market Insights last year. The firm expects the industry to grow at an annual rate of 17.1% from its valuation of $11 billion in 2023. 

Short-term rental veterans for years have said “professionalization” is key to industry expansion. But Airbnb believes that its individual hosts — and not professional property managers — is one of its biggest advantages over Vrbo and Booking.com.

Think vacation rentals are in for a big slowdown? Think again. Social media buzz of frustrated consumers sharing bad vacation-rental experiences paints a bleak picture. But Skift Research’s latest report, ‘Debunking the Myth of Vacation Rental Consumer Fatigue,’ reveals a more optimistic outlook.