Booking Holdings Inc.
Booking Holdings Inc. is an online travel platform company that connects travelers with accommodation, flights, rental cars, attractions, restaurants, and other travel-related services through its consumer brands Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable. The company earns most of its revenue from facilitating travel reservations, with additional income from payment facilitation, advertising, restaurant reservation and management services, and travel-related insurance. Its core business is built around matching consumer demand with supply from hotels, alternative accommodations, airlines, car rental firms, and other travel partners across a global marketplace. Booking Holdings is headquartered in the United States but generates a substantial majority of its business outside the U.S., with Europe and Asia especially important to its operating mix.
Fiscal year 2025 · change from previous year
Development 2020–2025
Business
Share of revenueBooking of hotels, homes, apartments, and other places to stay through Booking.com, Priceline, and Agoda.
Airline tickets, rental cars, and ground transportation services sold through the company’s travel brands.
Tours, activities, cruises, vacation packages, and other trip components that broaden the booking basket.
OpenTable’s restaurant reservation and management software and consumer booking services.
KAYAK’s comparison, search, and trip-planning tools that drive traffic and bookings to travel suppliers.
Payment facilitation, advertising, insurance, and other ancillary monetization services.
Products
Reported · share of revenue- Merchant Revenue66.0 %
- Agency Revenue29.6 %
- Advertisingandotherrevenues4.4 %
Source: 10-K FY2025, revenue the company reports per product line (SEC XBRL). Shares are of the lines shown and add up to 100 %.
Customers
Booking Holdings serves consumers who want to search, compare, and book travel online, with demand spanning leisure and business trips. Its primary customers are travelers booking accommodation, flights, cars, and activities through its consumer-facing brands, while a meaningful portion of traffic also comes through affiliate and business-to-business channels. The company also serves travel service providers such as hotels, alternative accommodation hosts, airlines, car rental firms, and activity operators that list inventory and pay for access to demand, payments, and marketing tools. Restaurant operators are another customer group through OpenTable, where they use reservation and management software to attract diners and manage seating. The business is highly price-sensitive, so customers are drawn to the platform for breadth of inventory, convenience, localization, loyalty benefits, and competitive pricing.
They book accommodation, flights, cars, and activities on Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, and KAYAK because the platforms combine inventory breadth, convenience, and price comparison.
Hotels, resorts, motels, and alternative accommodation hosts list inventory and pay commissions or transaction fees to access global demand.
They use the company’s flight and transportation channels to reach travelers and increase booking conversion across markets.
Restaurants use OpenTable for reservations, guest management, and demand generation from diners.
These partners distribute Booking Holdings inventory or route traffic into the platform, supporting incremental room nights and bookings.
Strategy
Booking Holdings is focused on profitable growth through higher room nights, broader supply, and deeper engagement across the travel journey. Management is investing in the Connected Trip vision, payments, loyalty, and Gen AI features to make planning, booking, and post-booking travel more seamless and personalized. The company is also expanding flights, alternative accommodations, and attractions to increase wallet share per traveler and reduce dependence on core hotel bookings. At the same time, the Transformation Program is intended to improve efficiency and create capacity for reinvestment in strategic priorities. Geographic localization, especially in Asia and the U.S., remains important because it supports brand relevance, conversion, and long-term supply growth.
A more integrated planning-to-booking experience can increase conversion, cross-sell, and customer retention across multiple travel products.
More inventory improves consumer choice, supports higher room nights, and increases the company’s ability to monetize travel demand.
Cost and process efficiencies create capacity for reinvestment in growth initiatives without relying solely on margin expansion.
Higher direct booking mix and stronger loyalty reduce marketing dependence and improve economics over time.
AI can improve consumer and partner experience while lowering internal operating friction and supporting faster product iteration.
Geography
Q3/2025Booking Holdings operates globally, with Booking.com serving more than 220 countries and territories and offering services in over 40 languages. The company says its businesses outside the U.S. represent a substantial majority of financial results, and its reported results are therefore highly exposed to foreign exchange movements, especially the euro and British pound. Europe and Asia are key demand centers, with management highlighting healthy travel demand in both regions and continued investment in localization and brand awareness there. Priceline remains primarily North America-focused, while Booking.com and Agoda are important for international growth and supply expansion. The company also has operational headquarters in the Netherlands for Booking.com and in Connecticut for Priceline, reinforcing a geographically distributed operating model.
Share of the revenue the company reports by geography.
Risks
Booking Holdings is exposed to cyclical travel demand, so recessions, geopolitical uncertainty, and weaker consumer spending can quickly reduce bookings and pressure average daily rates. The company also faces intense price competition, especially in Asia, where discounting, coupons, and loyalty incentives can lower revenue per booking and compress margins. Because most of its business is outside the U.S., foreign exchange volatility can materially affect reported revenue and earnings even when local-currency demand is stable. Regulatory scrutiny is another important risk: the company has been designated under the EU Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, which can increase compliance costs and constrain platform behavior. In addition, the company depends on third-party suppliers, search platforms, and partners, so disruptions in supply, traffic acquisition, or partner economics can affect growth and profitability.
- Regulatory scrutinyImpact: HighLikelihood: High
DMA and DSA designations can impose additional obligations, compliance costs, and operating constraints.
Exposure: European Union platform regulation
- Travel demand downturnImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Revenue depends on discretionary travel spending, which weakens during economic stress or political uncertainty.
Exposure: Global leisure and business travel demand
- Foreign exchange volatilityImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Most results are generated outside the U.S. but reported in U.S. dollars, so currency moves affect reported revenue and profit.
Exposure: Euro and British pound translation exposure
- Competitive pricing pressureImpact: MediumLikelihood: High
Competitors may discount aggressively, forcing Booking Holdings to match pricing or offer loyalty incentives that reduce margins.
Exposure: Asia and other highly competitive travel markets
- Alternative accommodation margin pressureImpact: MediumLikelihood: High
Growth in alternative accommodations can increase customer service and partner-related costs.
Exposure: Booking.com alternative accommodations
- Supplier and platform dependenceImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium
The business relies on hotels, airlines, restaurants, and search platforms for inventory and traffic.
Exposure: Third-party supply and traffic acquisition
Accounting
Judgemental itemsThe company’s reported revenue depends on whether it acts as principal or agent, which changes gross versus net presentation.
Impact: Affects revenue growth rates and comparability across periods
Bookings often precede travel dates, so revenue is recognized later than the booking event.
Impact: Creates quarter-to-quarter timing noise
Most business is outside the U.S. but reported in U.S. dollars, so exchange rates affect reported results.
Impact: Can materially change reported revenue and margins
Management recorded impairment charges in 2025 and future fair value assumptions could trigger additional charges.
Impact: Can cause large non-cash earnings volatility
Receivables from travel and restaurant partners can require provisions if counterparties weaken.
Impact: Affects operating expense and earnings quality
Judgmental tax positions and legal contingencies can materially affect net income.
Impact: Can create volatility in effective tax rate and reserves
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Last updated: 24/09/2026