What Is Booking Holdings Up To With Its Big 2021 Spending Spree?
Booking Holdings has splashed out almost $3.5 billion on acquisitions and investments in the space of less than a month.
The first came in mid November, when it acquired Getaroom for $1.2 billion and grabbed a slice of the B2B hotel room distributor market.
ETraveli Group, the Sweden-based online travel agency and flight technology company, came next as part of a €1.63 billion takeover from private equity house CVC Capital Partners.
And last week, Booking Holdings' family member Kayak was the lead investor in a $60 million backing of Life House, the hotel management and boutique accommodation provider.
Booking Holdings has spent big before, with its $1.8 billion deal for Kayak in 2012, Momondo for $550 million in 2017 and the OpenTable restaurant booking service for $2.6 billion in 2014.
But almost $3.5 billion is a lot of M&A funds to be shelling out at any time, especially as there remains some uncertainty over the rate of recovery in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector almost two years into a global pandemic that has slammed growth in the industry.
PhocusWire asked a range of executives and experts for their perspective on what might be motivating the buying spree at Booking Holdings and what it means for their competitors, others and the future.
Noreen Henry, chief revenue officer at Sojern
It’s always good for the travel industry to keep an eye on the business decisions of OTAs because that tells us what they are prioritizing and where they see opportunities.
In this case, Booking.com is doubling-down on their goal to support the full travel experience with ETraveli, as it boosts their air capabilities by bringing their air partner into the fold. Similarly, Getaroom bolsters their partner business and deepens their capabilities in distribution.
Booking.com appears to be ramping up to grow with the travel recovery, and pushing on things like air travel ahead of its rebound, which has been slower in its come-back than hotels.
