Assessing Business and Factors Impacting Booking.com in the UK

Booking.com.UK - Marketing
business report

Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................3
Main Body...............................................................................................................................................3
Micro and macro factors needed to be considered for brand in UK over next 12 months..................3
Main target audiences of the brand......................................................................................................4
Brand positioning.................................................................................................................................5
Marketing strategy...............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................7
References................................................................................................................................................8
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
This report is aimed at assessing business and factors that impact business of
Booking.com with a specific mention to company’s business in UK. Booking.com is an
online travel lodging agency. It was founded in 1996 and is headquartered at Amsterdam,
Netherlands. It is a subsidiary company of US-based Booking Holdings. Operating with a
mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world (About Booking.com, 2020), it
has made performance advertising as its marketing strategy. It focuses on bringing value and
ease in pricing, room selection, etc. to customers. Company had stable finances (Mellinas,
María-Dolores and García, 2015). However, cancellations and reductions in bookings due to
coronavirus concerns have negatively impacted its operations across UK.
Main Body
Micro and macro factors needed to be considered for brand in UK over next 12 months
Micro factors
Micro-environmental factors which impact a business includes its competitors,
customers, associates, market, etc. Company needs to strike a balance between all forces to
improve its business performance. Most important and most impacted factors in the present
situation is customers. Due to travel restrictions in place and safety concerns, people have
cancelled their earlier booking and not making new. Therefore, all strategies for company in
next 12 months must be directed towards bringing people back to travel. Travel curbs are
now lifting and company can make promotional offers in agreement with associate hotels like
reduced prices, gift vouchers, complementary services, etc. Safety and hygiene measures
taken by hotels must be promoted. Its competitors include Expedia, TripAdvisor, Airbnb,
etc., all of them are changing their policies and practises. Observing them will give company
new ideas to implement. All the hotels and residential properties that it offers to book are its
associates and it should enter into communication with the stakeholder so that company can
bring out the best deals that is not hurting finances of both the companies yet attracts the
customers to come out of inhibitions to whether travel or not. Market conditions are not
stable and it is unlikely to predict how it will be in next 12 months. Therefore, company
should develop flexible plans which can be adjusted according to required situation.
Macro factors
These incudes all the factors that are presented in external macro environment of the
business. For example, as per PESTLE analysis, political situations in UK be it regarding
Brexit or due to coronavirus spread or economic situations like fluctuations in exchange rates
creates impact over online agent’s business performance (Garrigos-Simon, Galdon and Sanz-
Blas, 2017). Prevalent and most impacting situation right now for the business is reduction in
travel bookings and cancellations of earlier bookings due to coronavirus spread. It has
reported a major drop in year-on-year booking and also, reductions in hotel prices to attract
more and more customers has also hurt its revenue streams.
The situations are now improving with restrictions on tourism being lifted and
government promoting all spheres of economy to restore earlier economic conditions will
present helpful opportunities to business in next 12 months. Company needs to make changes
in its policies to accommodate present situations. For example, it shall promote such hotels