Booking Holdings to Boost Customer Base With PHD Deal

Booking Holdings Inc.'s BKNG subsidiary, Priceline, recently selected Omnicom Group's OMC PHD as its media agency partner.
The Omnicom Group partnership will help Booking Holdings drive its brand value on the back of innovative and precision marketing solutions.
Booking Holdings is expected to gain solid customer momentum for its Priceline platform on the back of its latest partnership.

Expanding Partnerships Aid Customer Momentum

Per an MMR report, the online travel booking market is likely to reach $1.18 trillion by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 9.7% between 2024 and 2030. Booking Holdings is well-poised to capitalize on this growth opportunity on the back of its growing customer base.
Expanding partnerships have been the key driver for its customer momentum.
In this regard, Priceline's long-term partnership with Amadeus to enhance its air distribution and IT capabilities, allowing Priceline to access content through the Amadeus Travel Platform, remains noteworthy.
Priceline can also access Amadeus' unique air content and a Custom Search solution, providing customers with personalized offers and driving growth in key performance areas like response time and conversion.
Booking Holdings also recently partnered with Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in a bid to boost its popularity among LGBTQ+ travelers.
Booking Holdings' subsidiary Agoda collaborated with DBS to introduce a reward points redemption system for Hong Kong customers. This deal will allow Agoda's Hong Kong customers holding DBS$ and COMPASS Dollar credit cards to experience a seamless redemption while making hotel payments at the site, allowing insufficient point holders to reduce their booking costs. This partnership will aid Booking Holdings to expand its customer base in Asia.
Agoda also partnered with the Taipei City Government Department of Information and Tourism to serve as the Official Accommodation Partner for the World Masters Games (WMG). Per the terms of the deal, Agoda now offers a dedicated booking page for the WMG, simplifying accommodation searches for competitors and visitors. This will also create solid traction across Asian travelers.
All the above-mentioned endeavors are expected to drive BKNG's overall financial performance in the near term.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 revenues is pegged at $23.09 billion, indicating growth of 8% year over year.
The consensus mark for BKNG's 2024 earnings is pegged at $178.54 per share, indicating a 17.3% decline from the year-ago reported figure. The figure has remained unchanged in the past 30 days.

Booking Holdings Suffers From Stiff Competition

However, Booking Holdings faces stiff competition in the online travel booking market against industry peers like Airbnb ABNB and Expedia Group EXPE.
Airbnb is making concerted efforts to gain customer momentum in the online travel booking market on the back of new features. It recently unveiled a new label feature to rank the top listed properties of the company with a badge, allowing customers to see the top 25% and 1% properties on the listing page.
Expedia Group, on the other hand, collaborated with Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, Tourism Northern Territory and Brisbane Economic Development Agency to enhance travelers' experiences, improve sustainable tourism and showcase Australia's unique culture, boosting its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Conclusion

Booking Holdings' shares have returned 9.2% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the industry's growth of 17%. The company is suffering from competitive pressure, declining trend in agency bookings and geopolitical tensions.
Nevertheless, Booking Holdings is benefiting from an expanding partner base, robust portfolio offerings and growing demand for global leisure travel demand. Solid momentum in booked room nights is contributing well to the gross bookings growth. Strong growth in rental car and airline ticket units remains a positive.
Moreover, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company currently has a Value Score of B, reflecting a good opportunity for investors.

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.