Booking.com, in collaboration with rapper Ludacris, is making a winner’s dream come true.
A booker has the opportunity to bring three guests to stay at Ludacris’ Atlanta mansion. Activities include a meet-and-greet, a private movie screening in his home theater, dinner at a nearby gourmet restaurant, and more.
The promotion, which launches on Wednesday, is the latest in a series of celebrity partnerships by Booking.com, which also includes tie-ins with Mariah Carey, Martha Stewart and Sarah Jessica Parker.
As part of the company’s partnership with the Grammy winner, Booking.com’s Managing Director for the US, Ben Harrell, spoke in an extensive Q&A session about the online travel agency’s marketing efforts, its efforts to expand its range of alternative accommodations in the US, its social media strategy and more.
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What value does this type of advertising have for Booking.com, apart from the publicity that a celebrity partnership generates?
The value of celebrity partnerships goes beyond just advertising. The right celebrity can connect us with specific audiences and bring new customers to the Booking.com platform.
Their reputation and influence can help build our credibility as they can actually recommend Booking.com as a great travel site, allowing them to build a stronger connection with our current and potential customers. Not to mention, these partnerships are a fun way to showcase our incredible selection of properties on the platform. And last but not least, they can show people how easy it is to become a Booking.com host themselves by listing their own amazing properties on Booking.com.
Is it also about attracting more members – ie do participants have to create an account with Booking.com, similar to what Airbnb requires of everyone who takes part in its Icons offers draw?
Our main focus with celebrity partnerships is to increase visibility and raise awareness of our wide range of accommodation on Booking.com. Through celebrity partnerships, we aim to delight and engage customers, encouraging them to explore our platform, search for accommodation and ultimately book their dream vacation.
Although customers don’t need a Booking.com account to book a stay, we incorporate elements of our Genius loyalty program into our celebrity stay programs to provide exclusive benefits to our Genius members. The program is free to join and offers lifetime access to exclusive travel rewards.
Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, has talked about expanding Booking.com’s alternative accommodation offering in the US. How are you doing that?
We see significant growth opportunities in the US market, particularly as we expand our alternative accommodation offering. Today, Booking.com offers travelers more than 30 types of alternative accommodation and 7.8 million reported deals for houses, apartments and other unique places to stay around the world.
One way we want to expand our alternative accommodation offering is by continuing to improve our products for travelers and partners and increasing our marketing efforts. We are also focused on improving the customer experience and making it easier for everyone to find and book the perfect accommodation, be it a hotel, vacation rental or a more unconventional option like a treehouse or boat.
We continue to see new regulations and resistance to short-term rentals in communities around the world. Last fall at the VRMA conference, you spoke about Booking.com becoming more committed to short-term rentals. Are you doing that? How concerned are you about regulation in the U.S.?
As a responsible company, Booking.com is committed to working with authorities to find real, workable solutions for regulating short-term rentals. We believe that clear, enforceable regulations are necessary to balance the benefits of short-term rentals with the needs of local communities.
Our advocacy work focuses on promoting appropriate and proportionate regulations that consider the interests of all stakeholders, including homeowners, travelers and local governments. In the U.S., we actively engage with policymakers to ensure that regulations are fair, effective, and create a positive environment for both the travel community and local economies.
When you think about the overall growth of Booking.com in the US, what role does social media play in that? Expedia Group is targeting content creators with its newly opened travel shops. As a former marketing executive, would you be interested in working with content creators for Booking.com in the US?
Customers are spending more time on new platforms, especially social media, and most often on their mobile device. That’s why social media plays a crucial role in our US growth strategy, as it gives us the opportunity to reach and engage a wide audience. On platforms like Instagram and TikTok, we have a lot of fun showcasing the different travel experiences that can be booked on Booking.com, from hotels and vacation rentals to car rentals and attractions.
We also partner with content creators who offer authentic insights and experiences that resonate with diverse audiences. These partnerships, as well as our ongoing social media activity, help us build a deeper connection with travelers, increase their visibility and encourage bookings. This is an area that is changing rapidly and we will continue to evolve here to connect with as many travelers as possible.
Google was recently found guilty of violating antitrust laws over its search monopoly, and it’s still facing a lawsuit over its advertising practices at the same time that many new generative AI-powered search engines are being developed. How do you think search might change in the next decade?
The search landscape is evolving rapidly and we are closely monitoring these changes. With the advent of new technologies like generative AI, we expect to see changes in the way people search for and discover travel opportunities. We remain focused on adapting to these trends to ensure we continue to meet our customers’ needs in an ever-changing environment.
What’s at the top of your to-do list for the next year? The next five years?
Next year, we will continue to focus on growing our presence in the U.S. by expanding our alternative accommodation offerings and other travel verticals, and overall helping to increase awareness of our free Genius loyalty program.
Over the next five years, we will continue to work to solve one of travel’s most complex problems: the need to find, book and manage every element of a trip across single touchpoints. As part of our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, our Connected Trip vision is to remove this friction by offering every element of the booking experience in one place and providing seamless end-to-end support throughout the entire journey.
