Priceline

You’re Dead, Jim: Priceline Kills Off Shatner’s “Negotiator”

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 23 at 2:11 pm PT

Priceline is retiring William Shatner’s role as a celebrity spokesman after 14 years as it moves to turn consumer attention to its fixed-price hotel inventory.

News Byte

Six Major Hotel Companies Launch a Hotel Search Engine Called Room Key

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 11 at 4:15 pm PT

Here’s something novel: A new hotel search engine founded by companies that own hotels. The joint venture, called Room Key, is an effort to gain independence from some of the large online aggregators, like Priceline and Expedia or even Google. Room Key was founded by Choice Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott and Wyndham Hotel, and acquired its technology from hotelicopter in an asset deal last year.

TripAdvisor CEO Says Wall Street Underestimates Its Value Now That It’s Flying Solo

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 9 at 6:00 am PT

TripAdvisor’s co-founder and CEO Stephen Kaufer talks to AllThingsD about the media company’s prospects for growth now that it has broken off from Expedia and is an independently traded company.

Expedia Takes Stock as TripAdvisor Gets Ready to Fly the Coop

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 9, 2011 at 9:44 am PT

Now that Expedia’s spinoff of TripAdvisor is imminent, the hard work begins to give investors a reason to stick with the online travel agency once its high-flying media business is gone.

News Byte

O.co Partners With Priceline to Relaunch Shuttered Travel Site

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 6, 2011 at 3:28 pm PT

O.co, the Salt Lake City-based company also known as Overstock.com, has partnered with Priceline.com’s partner network to provide deals on hotels, flights and car rentals. The retailer’s foray into travel is its second. In March, it launched a vacations tab, but put it on hold a few months later after a third-party relationship did not work out. The new site, called O.co Travel, will offer Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” feature.

Priceline’s Take on Google Entering the Friendly Skies

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on November 7, 2011 at 5:20 pm PT

Priceline says it’s up to them to make the most of Google’s entry into the travel market.

Priceline’s Stock Slides Despite More Than Doubling Profits in Q3

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on November 7, 2011 at 1:42 pm PT

Online travel company Priceline easily beat analyst expectations in the third quarter, but the results did not impress shareholders.

Exclusive: Kayak Puts IPO Plans on Hold

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on September 29, 2011 at 2:36 pm PT

Blame it on turbulent waters, but Kayak, the hotel and flight search provider, has put its IPO on hold as it seeks more favorable market conditions.

Why Travel-Related Mobile Ads Are Taking Off on the iPad

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on September 28, 2011 at 9:00 am PT

Frequent travelers are increasingly turning to their iPads to book flights, get directions, find the best local restaurants, reserve a hotel room or rent a car, according to a study being released today.

News Byte

Priceline Hires Microsoft Exec Darren Huston as CEO for Booking.com

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on September 26, 2011 at 1:57 pm PT

Microsoft executive Darren Huston is leaving his role as corporate VP of the company’s consumer and online organization for the position of CEO of Booking.com, a Priceline company that facilitates hotel reservations worldwide. Priceline announced previously that Booking.com’s CEO Kees Koolen will become chairman. At Microsoft, Huston was responsible for display and search advertising sales for Windows, Windows Phone, MSN, Windows Live, and Bing. Before Microsoft, Huston was an SVP at Starbucks and in charge of acquisitions and new product development.