This week’s update features another heavy dose of earnings-related stories, including details from last week’s Booking Holdings release. If you’re interested, we’ve linked a copy of the transcript from Booking.com’s earnings call below. Enjoy.
- Highlights from Booking Holdings’ latest earnings release. While Booking posted strong financial results in its latest quarterly (and year-end) earnings release (quarterly and annual revenue, room nights and gross bookings were up significantly vs. 2021 numbers and showed solid year-over-year growth 2019), these were my results from the last release:
- Payment platform. Booking.com processed 42% of its gross bookings in the fourth quarter based on the merchant model through the Booking.com payment platform. This number is in line with the third quarter numbers. I expect this number to grow significantly during 2023 as more hoteliers consider switching to the platform.
- American market. Both Priceline and Booking.com continue to do well in the US market (room night growth and gross bookings now exceed 2019 levels), with growth that Booking believes will outpace the overall market recovery and result increasing market share (see Expedia) .
- Mobile application. 45% of room nights were booked through Booking Holdings’ mobile apps (a 13% increase compared to 2019). As we reported in previous Updates, the Booking.com app was the most downloaded OTA app globally in 2022 and reached the top spot in the United States in 2022 for the first time (see Expedia).
- Merchandising (a/k/a discount). According to Fogel, offering “compelling” prices to travelers is critical to delivering value to Booking’s customers. These attractive prices are the result of receiving competitive rates directly from Booking’s supplier partners and “building” the ability to offer discounts and other incentives (ie, trading). The Reserve reports that it has been satisfied with the results achieved from trading in 2022 (in fact, the cost of these trading efforts in 2022 was much higher than in 2019 and offset any increase in the first take rate from the increase in revenue from payments) and has plans to Continue its use (“selectively”) going forward. Ask if these trading opportunities are the result of Booking’s outsourcing efforts or taking advantage of ongoing changes in EU competition law.
- Year ahead. If Booking’s January results are a harbinger of what’s to come for Bookings in 2023, it looks to be a good year. In January, Booking booked 95 million room nights, a new monthly record of nearly 10 million. Booking growth reflects a 60% increase year-on-year and a 26% increase over the same period in 2019.
- IHG Seeing the Benefits of Technology Strategy. Last week we ran a story highlighting Marriott’s recent successes with its digital platform. This week we cover a similar story at IHG. On the recent earnings call, CEO Keith Barr highlighted IHG’s extensive digital efforts, which began in 2015 when IHG teamed up with Amadeus to develop an entirely new global reservation system. According to Barr, the new GRS has been critical to IHG’s most recent efforts (and successes) with loyalty, the IHG mobile app and IHG’s updated web presence. In its latest earnings release, IHG reported that 58% of all digital bookings at IHG come through mobile devices, making it IHG’s fastest growing revenue channel. IHG also reported that mobile app revenue for the year was up 30% compared to 2019 levels.
Booking Holdings says quarterly revenue rises 36% on strong travel demand
February 24, 2023 via Star Online – Latest News
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Online travel agency Booking Holdings Inc said on Thursday it set a new record in January for monthly overnight room bookings, with travelers booking vacations further afield than during the pandemic. Travel companies including Booking’s vacation rental counterpart Airbnb Inc have reported strong fourth-quarter results.
For more information, click here to view the earnings reports of Holdings Reservations
IHG Tech and Digital Strategy sees results
February 22, 2023 via focuswire.com
Holiday Inn-parent IHG is continuing to reap the benefits of its investment in technology, according to its latest figures. Creating “digital advantage” continues to be a priority for the group with its performance reflected in its strategy to grow its brands and “significant investment to innovate our technology, loyalty and distribution.
Trivago and Tripadvisor Metasearch Lag Online Travel Agency Pandemic Recovery
February 20, 2023 via Yahoo Finance – Top Stories
Dennis Schaal · 5 min read In this article: TRVG EXPE Travel metasearch sites like Trivago and Tripadvisor did not significantly reach pre-pandemic 2019 revenue levels in 2022, while travel companies in other sectors, such as Airbnb in short-term rentals and tour and activity provider Viator far exceeded …
