Booking Voucher Codes

History

From humble beginnings as a small start-up company in Amsterdam, Booking.com has gone on to become a truly international phenomenon. With an average of 750,000 rooms being reserved across the globe every single day, the company is arguably the world leader in booking accommodation online. They guarantee the best possible price for any kind of property, and what's more, there are no booking fees, ever.

Booking.com was founded in 1996 by a young, forward-thinking computer scientist from the Netherlands called Geert-Jan Bruinsma, who decided to fill what he perceived as a gap in the online travel market.

Ten years later the company was acquired by the Priceline Group, in what was viewed at the time as the best acquisition in Internet history, due to the fact that it helped Priceline to dramatically improve its financial position, and because no other acquisition in the digital travel market has proven to be profitable.

Since that time the company has grown exponentially while fending off various competitors and showing no sign whatsoever of slowing down.

From solo backpackers in need of a no-frills place to rest before the next stage of their journey, to families in search of that perfect base for their holiday, to businesspeople looking to be pampered after a day of tiring meetings, Booking.com caters to all kinds of travellers of both a leisure and corporate nature.

This is reflected in the wide variety of accommodation which can be booked through the site - over half a million properties under contract in 210 countries to be precise - ranging from simple family-run bed & breakfasts to lavish executive apartments and five-star luxury suites.

If you're feeling particularly adventurous, why not book into a tree house, a boat, or even a castle? There really is something for everyone.

How It Works

Whichever type of accommodation you decide to book, the process could not be easier. Simply select the name of your destination or a property you have in mind, your dates and the number of guests, and Booking.com will find the perfect accommodation for your needs.

If you have something specific in mind, you can narrow down your search even further according to price, property type, star rating and review score. Speaking of reviews, there are over 33 million comprehensive reviews written by real, verified guests after their stay, ensuring that you'll never be stepping into the unknown.

When you finally book, you'll get instant confirmation of your reservation. Availability is 100% guaranteed, and therefore so is your peace of mind. Registering on the site is optional but strongly recommended.

Villas.com

The company also recognises that there is a significant difference between booking a hotel room and planning a more elaborate do-it-yourself vacation in self-catering accommodation, and as a result launched Villas.com. This is a dedicated online booking site with a focus on villas, apartments, chalets, cottages, and other similar types of properties. In fact, Villas.com has more than 200,000 vacation properties in 24,736 of the world's most popular holiday destinations.

Just like its sister site, Villas.com never charges a booking fee. Additionally, the site also provides helpful information about the regions where each vacation rental is situated, making it easy to discover more about those rolling Tuscan hills surrounding your farmhouse, or the best place for a sumptuous seafood dinner near your sea-side apartment in Dubrovnik.

Mobile and Tablet

Over the past few years Booking.com has embraced the opportunities offered by new technologies, and as a result has released a number of useful apps for mobile and tablet on both the Android and iOS platforms.

These include a mobile app integrated with Passbook, an iPhone app that allows users to easily access their hotel and accommodation bookings, as well as other important travel documentation such as entry tickets and boarding passes, and Booking.com Tonight, the world's first last-minute hotel app that lets you find the best rates at short notice with a simple tap of a button.

These constant innovations have certainly paid off - in 2013 the company's mobile bookings grew by an impressive 160%, with the total value of bookings rising from $3 billion the previous year to $8 billion.

The Team

Powered by over 8300 employees and affiliates in more than 50 countries around the world, and available in 41 languages, Booking.com is truly international and can be considered one of the best, if not the best online booking website currently available.

In order to guarantee the best possible customer experience, the company operates its own in-house customer support team, who can be contacted around the clock to help guests in their native languages with whatever they may need.