Booking Holdings Inc. is an American travel technology company incorporated under
Delaware General Corporation Law
The Delaware General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code) is the statute of the Delaware Code that governs corporate law in the U.S. state of Delaware. Adopted in 1899, the statute has since seen Delaware become the most i ...
and based in
Norwalk, Connecticut
, image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg
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, coordinates ...
, that owns and operates several
travel fare aggregators and travel fare
metasearch engines including namesake and flagship
Booking.com,
Priceline.com,
Agoda.com,
Kayak.com,
Cheapflights,
Rentalcars.com,
Momondo, and
OpenTable
OpenTable is an online restaurant-reservation service company founded by Sid Gorham, Eric Moe and Chuck Templeton on 2 July 1998 and is based in San Francisco, California.
In 1998, operations began with a limited selection of restaurants in ...
. It operates websites in about 40
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
s and 200 countries.
In 2017, 89% of its gross profit was made outside the United States– most of which came from Booking.com.
In 2021, consumers booked 591 million room nights of accommodation, 47 million rental car days, and 15 million airplane tickets using websites owned by Booking Holdings.
[
In 2017, 93.4% of revenues were derived from commissions and 6.6% of revenues were derived from ]advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
.[
The company ranked 340th on the 2022 ]Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.
History
In 1997, Jay S. Walker founded the company in Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2 ...
, which launched Priceline.com, an online travel site, that used a Name Your Own Price bidding model.
In 1999, the company became a public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( l ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
, making Walker, who owned a 35% stake in the company, a multi-billionaire.[
The company experimented with selling other products and services such as groceries, gasoline, home mortgages, and cars, but these offerings were discontinued in 2000.
On April 1, 2014, the name of the company was changed from priceline.com Incorporated to The Priceline Group Inc.][
In July 2017, the company acquired the Momondo Group.]
In August 2017, KAYAK acquired the assets of Mundi, a Brazilian metasearch company.
On February 21, 2018, the name of the company was changed from The Priceline Group Inc. to Booking Holdings. On February 27, 2018, the company changed its ticker symbol from "PCLN" to "BKNG".
In 2021, Booking Holdings acquired Etraveli Group AB, the operator of the website GoToGate
GoToGate is an online travel agency and seller of air travel based out of Uppsala, Sweden, and one of the most prominent trade names of the Swedish travel corporation Etraveli Group AB ( Booking Holdings has entered into an agreement with current ...
, and hotel distributor Getaroom, for €1.63 billion. The Government of the United Kingdom
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
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, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
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, caption = Royal coat of arms of t ...
's Competition and Markets Authority has launched an enquiry into the acquisition, and as of November 2022, Booking Holdings is continuing to defend its proposed acquisition.
Management
Jeffery H. Boyd was named chief executive officer in 2002 and remained in that role until becoming chairman of the board for Booking Holdings in 2013.
Effective January 1, 2014, Darren Huston was named chief executive officer of the company, replacing Jeff Boyd. On April 28, 2016, Huston was forced to resign following an undisclosed personal relationship with an employee, and Boyd was named interim CEO.
Effective January 1, 2017, Glenn D. Fogel was named chief executive officer and president.
Acquisitions
See also
* List of companies operating in West Bank settlements
References
External links
*
{{authority control, state=expanded
Holding companies of the United States
Online retailers of the United States
American companies established in 1997
Holding companies established in 1997
Hospitality companies established in 1997
Internet properties established in 1997
1999 initial public offerings
Companies based in Norwalk, Connecticut
1997 establishments in Connecticut
Retail companies established in 1997