Booking Holdings - BKNG STOCK NEWS

Priceline (BKNG) has appointed Sejal Amin as Chief Technology Officer to oversee product engineering, infrastructure, data and technology operations. Amin brings over 25 years of experience leading global teams and driving strategic digital transformations.

In her role, Amin will drive Priceline's continued adoption and integration of generative and agentive AI as part of the company's mission to be the world's best travel dealmaker. She joins from Shutterstock, where she served as CTO and led AI integration initiatives. Previously, she was CTO of Thomson Reuters' Tax and Accounting division.

Amin is also an adjunct professor for NYU's Executive Education Program and a founding member of Unveiled, supporting women in STEM advancement.

OpenTable reveals significant shifts in Valentine's Day dining trends for 2025, based on recent survey data. 61% of singles are open to first dates on February 14th, with men (65%) showing more willingness than women (57%). The survey highlights a growing trend toward group celebrations, with 51% of diners considering double dates and a 34% increase in larger party bookings for Galentine's Day.

The data shows 81% of Americans plan to try new restaurants for Valentine's Day, with 36% specifically seeking special occasion venues. Last year, 28% of Valentine's Day reservations were made within 48 hours of dining. OpenTable has released its Top 100 Romantic Restaurants list for 2025, compiled from over 10 million diner reviews, with California leading with 11 featured restaurants.

KAYAK has released its WTF (What the Future) travel trend report, analyzing data from over 9,000 survey respondents across 9 countries and billions of searches to predict travel trends through 2030. Key findings include:

- 36% of Americans would use AI for travel recommendations, with AI assistants expected to become more common by 2030
- 45% of Americans plan to 'city jump' visiting multiple cities per trip
- Wellness travel is surging, with pools being the top searched hotel amenity globally
- 43% of Americans have made travel purchases influenced by social media
- 36% prefer off-season travel to avoid crowds and save money
- Traditional loyalty programs are declining as 21% believe price comparison tools offer better value

The report identifies eight major trends: AI Agents, City Jumping, Vitamin T (wellness scores), Cosmetic-cations, Feedbooking, Low Intensity Trips, Virtual Voyages, and Spiritual Sidequests.

Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) has announced it will host a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results on Thursday, February 20 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The company will release its financial results on its Investor Relations website approximately 30 minutes before the call, at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The event will be accessible via webcast at ir.bookingholdings.com, with audio replay available on the website for seven days following the call.

Booking.com (BKNG) has announced a strategic partnership with Antom, a merchant payment provider under Ant International, to expand payment options across 8 key Asian markets. The collaboration will integrate over 40 new payment methods, including online banking, bank transfers, digital wallets, and local card payments.

The partnership targets markets with a combined population of 680 million, including Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines. Initial implementations will include major mobile wallets such as AlipayHK, Boost, GCash, GrabPay, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, Touch 'n Go eWallet, and TrueMoney.

Through Antom's multi-currency offerings and cross-border settlement capabilities, Booking.com aims to enhance transaction security, optimize foreign exchange risk management, and improve operational efficiency. The partnership particularly benefits smaller properties and holiday rentals by providing access to diverse payment infrastructures.

KAYAK predicts 2025 will be dominated by long-haul international travel, with two-thirds of flight searches being international. Asia emerges as the top trending region, with flights at a 3-year price low, showing a 7% decrease compared to 2024. Japan leads as the must-see destination, with Tokyo being the most searched destination and projected top Spring Break spot for 2025.

Notable trends include significant airfare drops to Asian destinations like Sapporo (-19%), Okinawa (-17%), and Osaka (-14%). The Caribbean also shows promising trends with the lowest prices in three years, down 17% year-over-year. Business class searches have increased 19% YoY, with relatively affordable options to destinations like Cancun ($1,274) and Iceland ($2,882).

Rocket Travel by Agoda and Skift have released a new report highlighting challenges in hotel wholesale distribution. The report, titled 'The Wholesale Hotel Playbook: How Technology and Data are Redefining Distribution,' reveals that hotels could be losing 10% or more in revenue due to poor wholesale rate distribution control. The solution offers three key benefits: rate integrity through transparency, enhanced partnership control, and data-driven insights. Success cases include a partner chain improving rate parity from 40% to 76% over eight months, and another increasing new partner revenue share from 16% to 49%.

OpenTable reveals dining trends for 2025 based on consumer research and platform data. Key findings show 54% of diners plan to increase dining out in 2025, with Gen Z (71%) and Millennials (68%) leading this trend. Notable shifts include an 11% YoY increase in Wednesday dining, 10% growth in solo dining, and 8% rise in group dining (6+ people). Experiential dining bookings increased 27% YoY, with 42% of Americans showing increased interest for 2025. The company also released its Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2024, compiled from over 14 million diner reviews, with Chicago leading with 10% of listed restaurants.

U.S. Bank has launched a new travel booking platform, the U.S. Bank Travel Center with Booking.com, powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda. The platform allows credit cardholders to book hotels, flights, and rental cars while offering access to over 2.4 million properties worldwide through Booking Holdings brands. The service features special travel discounts, 24/7 support, same-day booking capability, and enhanced site navigation. Additional benefits include cash-back deals, merchant discount offers, and Paze℠, a secure online checkout solution using tokenization technology.