Booking.com Traveller Review Awards 2021 Recognize Over 1 Million Partners Across the World

AMSTERDAM - Drawing on millions of customer reviews, today Booking.com announced it will present 1,147,344 Traveller Review Awards for 2021, recognizing partners across 220 countries and territories who made travel experiences more memorable for travelers, whether they were booking a place to stay, rental car or airport taxi. The breadth and spread of winners in the Awards' ninth year is a powerful testament to Booking.com's partners' dedication and resilience, as they managed to provide incredible travel experiences for people in every corner of the globe amidst a year of untold challenges for the entire industry.

"As trips became fewer and further between, each and every trip meant more to travelers than ever before, and it has become even more important to celebrate the outstanding service that the Traveller Review Award winners displayed during a year like no other," said Arjan Dijk, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Booking.com. "On our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, our partners play such an impactful role in delivering amazing experiences to travelers and I know that with their tenacity, partnership and passion, we can rebuild travel together, and help more and more travelers to rediscover our beautiful world over time."

With so many incredible winners to highlight, Booking.com is uncovering the key attributes of a great stay, the Most Welcoming Regions on Earth and the incredible diverse offering that makes up the pool of partners that can proudly display a Traveller Review Award 2021.

Essential Attributes of a Great Stay

The Booking.com Traveller Review Awards 2021 reveal insights into traveler preferences throughout the past year, uncovering that travelers appreciate staff, cleanliness and location most when reviewing award-winning properties on the platform, with those attributes scoring highest among the categories that travelers rate following their stay. With consumers increasingly conscious of health and hygiene, notably, on average, winners had a cleanliness score that was 17% higher than the average cleanliness score for non-winners, suggesting it may be a differentiator for a more perfect welcome.

2021's Most Welcoming Places

Based on the share of properties receiving a Traveller Review Award 2021, Booking.com is revealing the Most Welcoming Regions on Earth for travelers to experience the best in hospitality and friendliness whenever it's safe again to do so. From Taitung County (Taiwan) and Tasmania (Australia) to Prešovský kraj (Slovakia) and Oberösterreich (Austria) to Nova Scotia (Canada) and Iowa (United States) to Chubut (Argentina) and Minas Gerais (Brazil), these places reveal hospitality can be found in every corner of the globe. To learn more about these remarkable regions, click here.

Homes, Apartments and Unique Places Remain Top Traveler Favorites

While hotels remained the second most-awarded accommodation type globally for 2021, for the fourth consecutive year, four out of the five top-awarded accommodation types globally are unique places to stay: apartments (484,243), hotels (175,748), holiday homes (123,145), guest houses (94,003) and bed and breakfasts (78,903).

Bed and breakfasts, farm stays, country houses, inns and guest houses accounted for the most welcoming accommodation types globally, signaling just how memorable unique stay experiences are for travelers across the globe.** With alternative accommodations accounting for 30% of all new bookings in the third quarter of 2020, Booking.com is proud to offer so many unique stay experiences bringing superior hospitality to travelers.

Transport Partners Kept Travelers Moving

Recent Booking.com research shows that 24% of travelers globally took a road trip in 2020 and 32% traveled more domestically in 2020 when compared to 2019***. As road trips and domestic travel became more common over the last year, Booking.com understands the immense undertaking that its transport partners faced including increased customer demand in certain markets and swift introduction of increased cleanliness measures in between pick-ups, provision of masks and sanitizers and minimizing customer contact and social distancing, among other initiatives.

This year, 2,100 rental car pick-up locations available on Booking.com, which offers rental cars in 160 countries worldwide, have been awarded. The top-awarded car rental pick-up locations globally include Christchurch Airport (New Zealand), Coolangagtta Gold Coast Airport (Australia), Phuket Airport (Thailand), Queenstown Airport (New Zealand), Orlando International Airport (United States), Tenerife Airport North (Spain), Thessaloniki Airport (Greece), Santorini Airport (Greece), Paphos Airport (Greece) and Larnaca Airport (Cyprus). Airport taxis, which are available in over 800 destinations globally, are also being recognized for their outstanding service, with 2,830 drivers across 18 providers winning Traveller Review Awards.

*Destinations were sorted by the total share of Traveller Review Award 2021 winners when compared to the total amount of eligible properties in that city (accommodation only). Destinations also had to have an above-average amount of winners to be included on this list (50 award recipients or higher) and were curated for geographic spread.

**Accommodation type categories were sorted by the total share of Traveller Review Award 2021 winners when compared to the total number of eligible properties in that segment.

***Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of 47,728 respondents across 28 markets (1,997 from USA, 1,987 from Canada, 1,999 from Mexico, 2,003 from Colombia, 1,996 from Brazil, 2,002 from Argentina, 1,994 from Australia, 985 from New Zealand, 1,993 from Spain, 1,993 from Italy, 1,993 from France, 1,984 from UK, 1,989 from Germany, 1,977 from Netherlands, 983 from Denmark, 986 from Sweden, 998 from Croatia, 1,997 from Russia, 999 from Israel, 1,997 from India, 1,992 from China, 991 from Hong Kong, 1,991 from Thailand, 1,977 from Singapore, 998 from Taiwan, 953 from Vietnam, 1,990 from South Korea, 1,987 from Japan). In order to participate in this survey, respondents had to be 18 years of age or older, had to have traveled at least once in the past 12 months and be either the primary decision maker or involved in the decision making of their travel. The survey was taken online and took place in November 2020.

About Booking.com

Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com's mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. By investing in the technology that helps take the friction out of travel, Booking.com's marketplace seamlessly connects millions of travelers with memorable experiences every day. For more information, follow @bookingcom on social media or visit globalnews.booking.com. For more information, follow @bookingcom on social media or visit globalnews.booking.com.

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