Booking.com Launches Booking Now, the First Truly Global App for Spontaneous Bookers

AMSTERDAM, January 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

More Than 580,000 Accommodations Ready to Book in Just Two Taps 

Personalized Search Results with Booking.com's Best Price Guarantee 

When making accommodation reservations within 48 hours, travelers don't need to sacrifice quality, breadth of choice or satisfaction for spontaneity. Booking.com, the world's number one accommodation site, today announced the launch of Booking Now, a new mobile app that revolutionizes the on-demand travel space by providing a completely personalized booking experience tailored to individual customer preferences and location. By harnessing the power of data based on user behavior as well as GPS technology, Booking Now is the only App to showcase the world's largest selection of more than 580,000 properties around the globe to provide custom accommodation recommendations for spontaneous travelers.

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http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7419151-booking-now-app-launch/

Rooted in and developed out of a deep understanding of proprietary customer data, the launch of Booking Now supports the growing importance of mobile when it comes to booking accommodations within 48 hours. According to Booking.com data, worldwide almost half of reservations made within 48 hours are booked on a mobile device.

"With the launch of Booking Now, we're increasing our investment in mobile by leveraging our global scale, assets and partnerships to accommodate the growing number of customers who are booking reservations within two days or less of their stay," said Darren Huston, Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com. "The new App puts users at the center of the booking experience, drawing from our vast database of properties to meet their specific preferences at the very moment they need to book. Booking Now is designed to deliver a seamless mobile experience for spontaneous consumers, fitting perfectly into their multi-device, on-demand lifestyle."

Booking Now personalizes real-time search results based on the unique traveler profile created by each first-time user to indicate specific accommodation preferences, such as desired price range and options like parking, breakfast and Wi-Fi. Users are then presented with the most relevant available accommodation suggestions based on their profile and within their defined location. Users can quickly and easily browse through the recommended options with a single swipe of their finger and book their preferred accommodation in just two taps. With Booking Now's predictive analytics, the more frequently customers use the App, the more personalized their recommended matches become. Additionally, as users swipe through the App, they can pin their top hotel choice to the map to create a short, visual list for quick and easy reference.

Further customizing the experience, Booking Now results can also be based on the user's current street-level location anywhere in the world. The App's GPS technology then provides step-by-step directions from the current location directly to the user's accommodation of choice, a first for hotel-booking applications.

Backed by Booking.com's reliable global network with 24/7 customer support and access to the world's largest network of more than 40 million verified guest reviews, Booking Now is designed to sit alongside the existing Booking.com mobile application and will continue to offer users the best price, with no hidden fees and a seamless "pay when you stay" model.  

Booking Now will be available for download in the U.S. in Apple's App Store on January 15, 2015, with a continued global roll out in the following weeks.

About  Booking.com:

Booking.com is the world leader in booking hotel and other accommodations online. It guarantees the best prices for any type of property - from small independents to five-star luxury. Guests can access the Booking.com website anytime, anywhere from their desktops, mobile phones and tablet devices, and they don't pay booking fees - ever. The Booking.com website is available in 42 languages, offers over 580,000 hotels and accommodations including more than 200,000 vacation rental properties and covers over 70,000 destinations in more than 200 countries worldwide.  It features over 40 million reviews written by guests after their stay, and attracts online visitors from both leisure and business markets around the globe. With over 17 years of experience and a team of over 8,300 dedicated employees in 150+ offices worldwide, Booking.com operates its own in-house customer service team, which is available 24/7 to assist guests in their native languages and ensure an exceptional customer experience.

Established in 1996, Booking.com B.V. owns and operates Booking.com™, and is part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN). Follow us on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest, like us on Facebook, or learn more at http://www.booking.com.

For further information, please contact:

Joseph Moscone, Senior Manager of Public Relations for the Americas
[email protected]
+1-212-548-3491

Eleni Garbis Simmoneau, MWW
[email protected]
+1-646-376-7041

Video: 
     http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7419151-booking-now-app-launch/

SOURCE Booking.com B.V.