As the US-based web companies continue to look up to Europe for growth, online travel services provider Priceline.com Inc. has acquired Amsterdam-based online hotel reservation company Bookings B.V. for $133 million.

Published: 14 Jul 2005

As the US-based web companies continue to look up to Europe for growth, online travel services provider Priceline.com Inc. has acquired Amsterdam-based online hotel reservation company Bookings B.V. for $133 million.

The acquisition is part of Priceline.com’s acceleration in expansion in Europe. The company had bought Active Hotels Ltd. for $161 million last year. The company now operates in the hotel reservation services through Activehotels.com, Activereservations.com, Bookings.net and priceline.co.uk. It added that in total, Bookings B.V. and Active Hotels have negotiated exclusive rates with almost 18,000 properties, which the companies believe is more than any other European Internet hotel reservation service.

Priceline.com stated that Bookings’ gross travel bookings for the 12 months ending June 30, 2005 are expected to be US$225 million, up 110% year-over-year. And Bookings’ revenues for the same period are expected to be US$25 million, up 100% year over year.

Features of the combined Active/Bookings operations include over 8,000 guest reviews every week to help consumers choose the best hotel for them and 30 full time staffers focused on negotiating the best rates for guests booking the 18,000 hotels available through Priceline.com’s European operations.

Bookings’ current management team will be retained. Established in 1996, the company has about 130 full-time employees and offices in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris and Pisa.

Jeffery H. Boyd, president and chief executive officer, said that Bookings chief executive officer Stef Norden will work with Andrew Phillipps, chief executive officer of Priceline Europe, to help secure their market leadership and provide great value for all priceline.com customers, including consumers, hotels and our partner web sites.

“Bookings management and employee teams have built a rapidly growing business in continental Europe, with a geographic reach and supplier- and customer-friendly model that we believe nicely complements Active Hotel’s business,” said Boyd.

Norden said “We believe that the additional demand from working with priceline.com and Active Hotels will enable us to provide extra business for our suppliers; and distribution partners and customers will benefit from access to additional hotel supply. In the context of a larger European business, there should also be additional opportunities for our staff.”

For the second quarter, Priceline expects gross travel bookings to be in the range of $566 million to $570 million. Gross travel bookings refer to the total dollar value, including all taxes and fees, of the travel services purchased by consumers. Second-quarter revenue should be $265 million to $270 million.

Sabre Holdings Corp., owner of Travelocity.com, agreed in May to buy Britain’s Lastminute.com for 577 million pounds. In February, Cendant bought EBookers Plc, an European online travel agency, for 190 million pounds.