Booking Holdings announced that it has teamed up with Chinese car-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and invested USD 500 million in Didi.
Under the strategic partnership between the two companies, DiDi and Booking Holdings will leverage their technology capabilities and local operating expertise to offer more comprehensive and personalized quality travel experiences across the world.
With the partnership, Booking Holdings' brands will have the ability to offer on-demand car service through their apps, powered by DiDi, and DiDi customers will have the option to book hotels through Booking.com or Agoda.
Todd Henrich, SVP and Head of Corporate Development for Booking Holdings, said, "DiDi has clear advantages in technology and scale in the shared mobility industry. We believe that together we can offer smarter transportation services to our brands' customers, and help DiDi's customers with seamless access to the products and services the brands in our company provide throughout the world."
Booking Holdings serves users and partners in more than 220 countries and territories through its major brands including Booking.com, agoda.com, KAYAK, Priceline, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. DiDi offers a full range of app-based transportation services for over 550 million users.
Booking Holdings injected USD 450 million into Meituan in October 2017. In connection with the investment, Meituan entered into a commercial relationship with Booking Holdings’ Asia-based accommodation reservation brand Agoda.com, further expanding the international presence of Meituan's hotel & travel business.
As of March 31, 2018, Booking Holdings had an 8.5% stake in Ctrip, the world's second-largest online travel group by market capitalization, second only to Booking Holdings.
