Hotels.com

Top 3 global online travel agency with significant market share in hotel bookings

Hotels.com is a major online travel agency (OTA) that operates a global hotel booking platform, offering travelers access to hundreds of thousands of properties worldwide. Founded in 1991 and acquired by Expedia Group in 2003, Hotels.com has established itself as one of the world's leading accommodation booking services. The platform serves both leisure and business travelers with a comprehensive selection of hotels, resorts, apartments, and alternative accommodations. From an AdTech perspective, Hotels.com operates a significant digital advertising business as both an advertiser and advertising platform. The company invests heavily in performance marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), display advertising, and affiliate marketing to drive customer acquisition. Additionally, Hotels.com operates a media business that allows hotel partners to advertise and promote their properties within the platform through sponsored placements and enhanced listings, creating a marketplace advertising model similar to retail media networks. As part of Expedia Group, Hotels.com benefits from shared technology infrastructure and data capabilities, enabling sophisticated targeting, personalization, and measurement across its advertising operations. The company's loyalty program (Hotels.com Rewards) generates valuable first-party data that enhances its advertising effectiveness and customer retention strategies.