Booking.com

This is anyone's guess.

Booking.com has 100 billion reasons to not lose.

Expedia has a lot to not lose.

That's

But at the same time, We knew that we were very young in it, right? And it's very hard to compete with Google, right? There is absolutely no way.

I'm not booking.com.

There is no way that I'm getting traffic on my website to the point of getting a lot from all over.

So what we've decided to do, we've done it for our dance business.

Monitor where bookings come from.

If you're getting European guests through Booking.com but not VRBO, invest more in Booking.com. Track which European countries book most and refine marketing accordingly.

If Germans love your property but you're not getting French guests, understand why and adjust.

Data-driven decisions improve results.

I talked to.

I talked to a bunch of people using those tools, and they were saying that in the future, people are just going to tell those tools to find a place and the tools are going to be searching not just on Airbnb, but they're going to go straight to direct booking websites and they're not necessarily going on Airbnb or on Booking.com to book a unit.

So I met a few people who were saying, you know, the question is like, what do those OTAs look in a year from now? On the contrary, on the other side, I was saying, well, but people still...

One of the reasons that people don't book on the direct booking website is there's some risk there.

A year from now, everyone's just going to book through their personal assistants.

And then some people are saying, no, people are not going to trust all those other sites.

They want to book for Airbnb, they want to book for Booking.com because then they know it's not a scam.

They know that if there's a problem, they have somebody to call.

Right.

When those properties are listed on multiple booking sites simultaneously, like Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, you are suddenly managing dozens of distinct digital endpoints.

Oh, wow.

And those endpoints absolutely must agree everywhere at all times.

Exactly.

But the second requirement was absolute bulletproof reliability.

Specifically, reliable calendar and rate sync across channels like Booking.com and Airbnb.

Because that synchronization is the heartbeat of a short-term rental business.

Forget your usual beach vacation or that same trip you take every year.

A new Booking.com survey finds 79% of American travelers are interested in taking a vacation that's completely out of character.

Think swapping a relaxing beach resort for a rugged wilderness adventure or trading a camping trip for a five-star hotel.

Nearly half even want to surprise their friends and family with their travel choices.

It's part of what Booking.com predicts will be a major travel trend in 2027.

Vacations that break from your usual habits.

And 82% say they'd consider choosing a destination based on their mood.

I manage about 123 properties.

They're definitely on the Airbnb platform, VRBO, Booking.com, all the major OTAs.

Yeah, all right, so I have so many questions.

My sister has done Airbnbs or VR, but I've never done it.

And then that needs to link to the Google reviews.

So the Google reviews have to, or TripAdvisor, Booking.com, whatever it might be, needs to link up with what you're seeing on your website.

So if you say you've got great eggs and someone's on Google reviews saying you have shit eggs, AI is basically going to, sorry.

No, that's okay.

It's more... just the restrictions on what I can do from a marketing standpoint.

I'm fine paying Airbnb, you know, 15% to get the first booking, but it's on me to continue to get repeat bookings, right? And I can't remember the gentleman's name, but the former CEO of booking.com, this was years ago.

I remember somebody was asking him about direct bookings and he's like, I have no problem with it.

He's like, people pay us and then it's on you to get them to come back.