More rooms to rent on Booking.com
Booking.com began humbly, with one employee in Amsterdam who wanted to help Dutch travelers find places to stay. Twenty-two years later, it’s one of the largest travel booking services in the world. Booking.com rivals Airbnb in rentable homes, apartments and other unique places to stay, with more than 5.5 million listings compared to Airbnb’s 5 million. Beyond that, it offers rooms from hotels and B&Bs, for a total of 28.9 million listings. Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans joined the company in 2002 after stints with several hotel companies. She was named CEO in 2016. Below, Tans discusses the home-sharing and her management strategies.
Booking.com says listings for alternative accommodations grew 27 percent last year, faster than the growth it saw in
traditional hotels. What does that say about today’s travelers?
Our research shows that 30 percent of travelers want to stay in an apartment or condo in 2018 and 28 percent want to stay in a holiday home or villa. We're seeing that our customers crave choice and diversity, and travelers are now savvier than ever in knowing what options are out there.
Cities have struggled with home-sharing, saying it takes properties off the market, raises rents and floods some neighborhoods with tourists. What’s your response?
Home-sharing is actually a really positive solution to overtourism long-term, because it spreads the distribution of tourism far beyond cities and helps diversify. Prior to the ability to book a home or apartment, travelers’ only options were to travel to where hotels were located.
Some cities have passed laws limiting home-sharing. Where do you stand on regulations?
At the end of the day, clear laws in this space will help all companies operate on an even playing field. Regulation isn’t always a bad thing. When the right balance is struck, the home-sharing industry can thrive. That benefits travelers and increases revenue to cities, but with clear laws that can minimize any negative impact.
Booking.com has 17,000 employees in 198 offices in 70 countries. How do you keep everyone on the same page?
We have built an impressive foundation for success by identifying what we stand for. Booking.com is an amazing tool to connect people with life-changing experiences. By staying true to this promise, our employees know what they are aiming for and our customers see us as more than just a travel site.
What separates a mediocre business from a high-performing one?
A diverse employee base fosters an incredibly dynamic culture that breeds broad awareness of new and different ways of thinking. We have more than 150 nationalities and 50 percent females on our staff. Creating and nurturing an incredibly dynamic culture with diversity has been at Booking.com’s core since day one.