Booking.com

Booking.com is a leading online travel agency headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1996 as Bookings.nl by Geert-Jan Bruinsma, it merged with Bookings Online in 2000 to form Booking.com. In 2005, it was acquired by Priceline Group (now Booking Holdings Inc.) for $133 million. The acquisition significantly contributed to Booking Holdings' financial growth, turning a $19 million loss in 2002 into a $1.1 billion profit by 2011. In 2018, Priceline Group rebranded itself as Booking Holdings Inc. to align with its most prominent brand, Booking.com. The company offers lodging reservation services for approximately 3.4 million properties across over 220 countries and territories, including hotels, motels, resorts, homes, and apartments. It also provides flight bookings in 55 markets and tours and activities in more than 1,300 cities. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that 'Booking.com' could be registered as a trademark, recognizing it as a distinctive brand name. This decision affirmed that the combination of a generic term with '.com' can signify a specific source of goods or services, making it eligible for trademark protection. As of 2026, Booking.com continues to operate as a subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc., offering a wide range of travel-related services globally.