History of Booking.com
Geert-Jan Bruinsma founded Booking.com in 1996. Booking.com originally started as booking.nl when it was founded in 1997. In 2000, the company merged with another company which then changed the website’s URL to booking.org. The URL changed again when Stef Noorden was chosen as the CEO for the company. The company was founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands where their headquarters still remains today. Booking.com gained quick exposure and lead to the number of employees, increasing in just a few years.
The Priceline Group purchased Booking.com for over 100 million dollars back in 2005 in which they merged with another company. Not even a decade after Booking.com launched, the company had offices in various countries.
Booking.com is one of the largest travel agency websites in the world with over one million rooms being booked every 24 hours in thousands of destinations all over the world. Booking.com currently has over 150 offices located worldwide with a total of 13,000 employees. Darren Huston was the CEO of Booking.com up until April of 2016 in which he resigned. Darren Huston was the CEO of Booking.com for over 4 years. Darren Huston also served as the CEO of The Priceline Group since early 2014 up until 2016 in which he gave his resignation. Darren Huston has previously worked for Microsoft as an executive for the company.
The Current CEO of Booking.com
After Darren Huston resigned from Booking.com as the CEO in April of 2016, the company offered the position to Gillian Tans in which she accepted. Gillian Tans is responsible for the successful operation of Booking.com as well as managing the company in whole. Before accepting her promotion to CEO of the company, Gillian Tans was Booking.com’s President and Chief Operating Officer in which she has served since 2011.
During her time with Booking.com, she has also served in other roles in various departments in the company. Gillian Tans has been an employee of Booking.com since 2002. Gillian Tans has an extensive background history in her education and her career.
Booking.com Operations
Booking.com has come a long way since it was founded in 1996. The company now has mobile apps for both Android and Apple users so that they can access the website anytime that they would like. The company has also launched an app for individuals who need to book a hotel at the last-minute naming the app “Booking.com Tonight” that is compatible with Apple devices. In late 2012, Booking.com launched a Kindle Fire app which can be downloaded using Amazon. The Kindle Fire app for Booking.com can be downloaded in various countries. Since launching mobile accessibility, Booking.com has seen a rapid number of revenue from consumers using their devices to use their services.
The company has a similar layout style for their website compared to their competitors. Booking.com allows users to find the best deals available on the hotel rooms listed on the website. Booking.com also allows users to review their experiences and read reviews on hotels before choosing to book a room. The website allows users to view images, amenities, and prices for hotel rooms.