The Booking.com hotel website is expanding into new territory and expanding its services

Amsterdam-based Booking.com is expanding with the goal of becoming a full-service travel “department storeâ€.

Customers around the world will be able to book flights, attractions, food and drink deals and local trips through Booking-com’s website, the Financieele Dagblad reported. Friday.

For years, Booking, com has only offered hotel rooms and other accommodations. CEO Gillian Tans told the newspaper the company is poised to enter the wider travel market in part due to the rise of smartphones.

Tans: “People trust smartphone technology more, which allows them to book more last-minute deals. They believe that it is no longer necessary to plan well in advance. I’m just gonna go. Book the first hotel when I arrive in Bangkok and then see what happens.

Amsterdam

Booking.com captured a good share of the hotel reservation market soon after it was founded in Amsterdam in 1996. As a result, the number of tour operators and travel agencies declined as travelers began to book hotels. hotel rooms on their personal computers.

Today, the company is investing millions in new technologies used in machine learning and artificial intelligence to personalize bookings.

Booking.com must change course as competition increases from sites like Airbnb which also offer tourist attractions like historic walks, unusual concerts and kayaking. Airlines like Ryanair and KLM are also expanding their range of offerings with offers that include car rentals and accommodation.

Priceline, publicly traded in the United States, acquired Booking.com for $ 135 million in 2005 and is now one of the best performing units of Priceline. It is about to change its name to Booking Holding. The company’s market valuation is over $ 100 billion.