Traveling Blog: Priceline/Booking Turning Point + Accor's Voracious Appetite + United Reboots Biz Class

February 22, 2018

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Note From the Editor

What's in a name? Shakespeare pondered the question and so, it would seem, did the Priceline Group. The online travel company announced Wednesday morning it has changed its name to Booking Holdings Inc. to better reflect its most powerful brand, Booking.com. Not much is expected to change operationally, though the CEO said he hopes the new name will bring more attention to the now-elevated Booking.com presence in the United States.

For its part, AccorHotels wants to keep adding new names to its portfolio. The Paris-based hotel company has bought or invested in more than a dozen companies in the last two years, and executives said they plan to increase the number of acquisitions they make this year. Just call them the big spenders.

— Hannah Sampson, News Editor

New eBook: How to Keep Your Visitor Guide Relevant to Today's Traveler

The name change to Booking Holdings reflects the reality that Booking.com dominates the parent company's business. Although the parent company still calls Connecticut home, the balance of power shifted long ago to Amsterdam.

AccorHotels Wants to Accelerate Its Buying Spree in 2018

AccorHotels' acquisitions over the last couple of years aren't money makers yet but that's not to say they never will be. CEO Sébastien Bazin is still intent on playing a very different game than the other big hotel companies.

Meeting Planners Face a Daunting Challenge in Rising Food and Beverage Costs

Spending as a result of U.S. meetings and events has steadily increased since 2009, and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon, according to new research. Spending on food and beverage likewise isn't easing up at all.

Inside the Fine Dining Restaurant Tucked Into a Food Hall

The unique business of fine dining operations allows elements of service that are good business decisions to also translate into exceptional experiences for diners.

Rezidor Hotel Group Defends Its Performance as Profits Fall

Rezidor Hotel Group's fourth quarter earnings call was a snoozer until one Norwegian newspaper reporter decided to call b.s. on the company. That made for an interesting exchange.

Social Tables CEO on Breaking Down Barriers for Meeting Planners

A lot of work needs to be done to improve the ability of hotels to sell to planners on smarter and more efficient ways. A variety of event technology companies are working on it, but the process of building trust among stakeholders will likely take some time.

United Reboots Its Polaris Business Class With a Focus on Consistency

United Airlines overpromised with its Polaris business class. Instead of rethinking business class, it should have focused on providing a simple and consistent product.

Under previous CEO Richard Solomons, IHG had looked to fill "white space" in its portfolio and it looks like this plan is continuing under his successor. Despite having a well-established luxury brand, the area is something of a weak spot for the company, with no true high-end offering. It sounds like IHG is well on the way to rectifying this.

New Skift Research Brand Matrix Suggests Hotel Owners Evaluating Brands Should Look to Marriott and Hilton

While brand considerations must be made on a property-by-property basis, Skift Research's proprietary Brand Matrix analysis ranks Marriott and Hilton at the top.

Targeting a New Microgeneration of Luxury Travelers

Just when you started having it up to here with ballyhooed buzzwords like millennials, authenticity and experiential travel, along comes J. Walter Thompson with a whole new compendium of marketing terminology. Let's see what sticks.

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