VRMA Administrator
Booking.com estimated that its mix of short-term rental bookings in the third quarter represented a slight uptick of about 30 percent compared with 2019, but CEO Glenn Fogel tempered that with the fact that about 70 percent of bookings on the platform — close to the previous third quarter's numbers — were for hotels because they are more profitable than short-term rentals. He explained that Booking.com does not prioritize nudging travelers toward short-term rentals versus hotels, as offering a choice gives the organization a competitive edge over rivals like Airbnb. "So I don't see anything to try and artificially try and drive more people to the alternative accommodations, so necessarily a thing that's going to increase the value of the company," Fogel said. "I think providing the customer with what they want, what they need, what they think is best for them is really the right way being consumer-centric and really driving that is the best way to build the company."
Skift.com (11/08/22) Dennis Schaal
