First, keep an eye on the online travel booking sector and on the evolution of consumer habits in this area in order to assess whether Booking has growth possibilities in the more or less long term.

You should of course also keep an eye on the development strategy of Booking's international activities and in particular on operations aimed at positioning it in certain promising markets such as emerging markets in Asia.

It's also important to carry out a complete analysis of the increasing competition which is more and more aggressive in this sector of activity. You should therefore follow the arrival of new adversaries and the publications, events and other financial data concerning its historical competitors.

All the economic, political and health events that can slow down tourism is also data to be taken into consideration as they directly impact the sales made by Booking and therefore its profitability.

You should also take into account all the group's communications to its shareholders, such as its strategic development plans and its announcements of partnerships and acquisitions.

Always end this analysis with a study of the financial results of the group that should be compared with analysts' forecasts and with the objectives that the group has set for itself.

Airbnb 

First of all, one of Booking's main opponents is the Airbnb group, which recently went public. This company operates through a paid community rental platform service between individuals. It was created in 2008 by three Americans and its website now has several million listings offering accommodation all over the planet. Bear in mind that with regard to the European market, Airbnb operates through its subsidiary Airbnb Ireland Private Unlimited Company Dublin which is a company incorporated under Irish law.

Expedia 

Booking's second major opponent is none other than Expedia, which is another American company based in Seattle and which operates several online travel agencies including Expedia.com, Hotels.com or Hotwire.com and many more. In total, there are more than 90 points of sale brands that Expedia operates in some 60 countries. The group also operates travel reservations for a number of airlines and hotels as well as consumer brands, high traffic websites and thousands of active affiliates through the Expedia Affiliate Network. The group is of course listed on the stock exchange and is part of the composition of the S&P 500 index.

Air France 

First of all, in 2018, the Booking group set up a new strategic partnership with the airline company Air France, aimed at offering customers a more complete, simplified and digitized travel experience. Customers who book a flight via Air France and Joon now have the possibility of booking a hotel or accommodation more easily via Booking and through a dedicated page. Another advantage for customers who book their accommodation through the page dedicated to Booking is that they earn one Mile for each euro spent.

Grab

Another interesting strategic partnership was signed in 2019 with the transport service Grab. Bear in mind that the Booking service and app for booking hotels and accommodation is available in 8 countries in South-East Asia. Thanks to its partnership with Grab, its customers can now book VTC drivers and taxis available on the Grab application. This app has been designed in such a way as to allow customers to book and pay for accommodation and transport on demand from a single interface. Another factor is that Booking is also a shareholder of the Grab Company and that this app therefore allows customers to also book housing.