Take $50 and travel

If Americans are looking for an excuse to travel, Glenn Fogel figures $50 might be just enough encouragement to hit the road.

The CEO of Booking.com and its parent, Booking Holdings, tossed the offer out there — take a trip and get a credit for the next one. Conditions apply: Use the app, book by May 31, and travel by year end.

Booking Holdings, which saw its revenue drop by more than half last year, won’t recover from the pandemic one travel credit at a time, but Fogel sees other trends that will lift his company: More people are getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Airport crowds are growing. “Vaccine passports,” while opposed by some state governors, could open the way for more international travel. Booking’s shares have soared 80% since March 2020, which could help explain why far more analysts rate the stock “Hold” than “Buy,” according to FactSet. Also, the company is less exposed to the U.S. travel market, which is coming back faster than Europe’s.

“Europe is definitely behind the U.S. in terms of vaccination rates,” Fogel says. “It’s going to take longer to recover, but we’ll get there.