Booking Holdings Inc. reports news tied to its online travel and dining reservation businesses, including Booking.com, KAYAK, OpenTable, Agoda and Rentalcars.com. Recurring updates cover earnings releases, investor conference appearances, travel-search product features, restaurant technology initiatives and partnerships that extend booking access across consumer platforms.
Company news also includes governance changes, board appointments and material agreement disclosures. Product announcements often focus on travel planning, accommodation search, rental cars, restaurant discovery and the use of AI or partner integrations within Booking Holdings' branded marketplaces.
KAYAK (BKNG) released its 2026 Holiday Travel Check-In, outlining historical airfare patterns and potential savings for holiday travelers. Domestic Thanksgiving fares historically bottomed around five weeks before the holiday, while Christmas fares historically dipped four to seven weeks before departure. Thanksgiving Day departures could save up to 19% domestically and 49% internationally versus November 20 departures.
Average fares to Cusco, Phuket and Fiji fell 20%, 16% and 13%, respectively, versus last year. Booking two one-way tickets could save as much as 30% internationally and 29% domestically. KAYAK cautioned that historical patterns are a guide, not a guarantee.
OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings (BKNG), released its first U.S. Restaurant Impact Report on dining activity and restaurants' local role. At active U.S. restaurants on its platform, seated diners rose 11% year over year from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Average restaurant spending per person from online reservations rose 3% to $60 over the same comparison.
In a survey, 60% of diners said they spend money at neighboring businesses before or after a meal, spending an additional $138 on average. Another 88% said restaurants help build a sense of community. 28% said they had missed a reservation without cancelling at least once in the past year. Restaurant operators estimated that a no-show table for two costs $80 on average. The report also draws on a survey of restaurant workers.
Booking Holdings (BKNG)-backed Lola debuted an AI assistant for experiences with paid membership plans and travel and lifestyle partners. A free membership offers personalized recommendations, current availability and pricing, and direct booking. Plus costs $5 per month and VIP costs $25 per month; both require a 12-month commitment.
Paid plans add preferred hotel rates, dining benefits, airport services and concierge access. Launch partners include ResX, BLADE, Aero, SeatGeek, GetYourGuide, Nuitee and Ten Group, alongside Booking Holdings brands Booking.com, OpenTable, KAYAK, Priceline, Agoda and FareHarbor.
Booking Holdings (BKNG), via travel search engine KAYAK.fr, reports that Seville is the top trending destination among French travelers for September–October shoulder-season trips, supported by lower prices versus summer.
Average economy return flights from France for September–October cost €233 compared with €345 in July–August, a 32% drop, while average hotel prices are down 14%. The fastest-growing destinations by flight searches versus summer include Seville (+165%), Munich (+120%), Malé (+118%), Venice (+101%) and several others, with each of the top 10 cheaper to fly to than in summer. Malé’s average return fare is down 32% to €701, New York and Strasbourg are each down 29% to €505 and €108, and Seville’s average return fare is €164, 10% below summer.
Hotel rates around the Mediterranean show large declines, led by Monastir at €82 (-62%), Salou at €89 (-51%) and Agadir at €78 (-43%). KAYAK’s analysis identifies 27 October as the least expensive departure date for international flights from France at €176, 37% below the shoulder-season average, and 29 September as the cheapest date for international hotel check-ins at €103 per night.
Booking.com (BKNG) is launching limited-time “Turbulence Test” stays with curated compatibility experiences at 9 partner hotels across the U.S. starting September 14, 2026. These packages include a physical Turbulence Test Kit featuring travel-themed conversation cards, “Would You Rather?” scenarios, “Red Flag / Green Flag” speed rounds and blindfolded taste tests, ending with a survey that delivers an “official” compatibility verdict.
The initiative is informed by new Booking.com-commissioned research on U.S. travelers’ top travel “icks,” spending conflicts and relationship dynamics. Findings include that 69% of travelers would take a trip to test compatibility, 35% have discovered incompatibility after a trip and 28% have considered ending a relationship or friendship because of travel. Participating properties offer extras such as food and beverage credits, late check-outs, attraction tickets, resort credits and customized games layered onto the Turbulence Test experience.
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) announced that Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen will participate in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco on September 9 at 10:10 am PT / 1:10 pm ET. A public live audio webcast and replay will be available on the company’s investor relations website.
OpenTable (NASDAQ: BKNG) launched its largest suite of new and enhanced restaurant technology features, adding more than 20 tools, many powered by AI and automation. The rollout focuses on three areas: driving diner demand, turning data into actionable insights and connecting OpenTable with other core restaurant systems.
New capabilities include integrations with major LLM-based discovery platforms such as Google, ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity and Alexa+ AI, an AI Concierge with 500,000+ monthly active users, AI-generated restaurant profiles, and natural-language “Conversational Reporting” in testing. Operational tools like Table Automations have already completed over 2 million automated adjustments, saving test operators an average 4.5 hours per month, while Turn Times and Availability Insights helped reclaim about 39 minutes of reservable time per shift in testing. OpenTable also reported 40% year-over-year growth in POS partner adoptions and a 270% increase in diners seated via its 20+ voice AI partners, reaching 3 million diners to date.
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) announced that Chief Executive Officer Glenn Fogel will deliver a keynote session at the Citi 2026 Global TMT Conference in New York City on September 8, 2026, starting at 3:55 p.m. ET. A live audio webcast and replay will be accessible to the public via the company’s investor relations events webpage.
Square (NYSE:XYZ) announced an expanded, preferred partnership with OpenTable, a restaurant technology provider owned by Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG), to unify reservations, payments, and guest data in one view. The enhanced integration connects OpenTable’s guest insights with Square’s transaction and operational data across Square software and hardware, including Square Handheld.
Restaurants can opt into capabilities such as unified guest profiles combining reservation history, dining preferences, and spend; tools to turn reservations into loyalty and personalized marketing; and analytics linking bookings to revenue, repeat visits, and lifetime value. The partnership currently serves restaurants in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Ireland, and France, with future enhancements planned around onboarding, reservation workflows, guest intelligence, and deeper loyalty and payment integration.
Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN) and OpenTable announced a partnership integrating OpenTable’s global restaurant network into the AI-powered business travel assistant Navan Edge. The integration enables business travelers to discover and book restaurants directly inside Navan Edge’s chat-based workflow, alongside flights, hotels and loyalty optimization.
According to Navan, new trip-aware features use live location and itineraries to suggest nearby OpenTable options, learn from past reservations and preferences, and send proactive reservation reminders. Support for OpenTable’s private and group dining platform, including private rooms and large tables, is described as “coming soon.”