Booking.com parent swoops for activities booking specialist FareHarbor

Start-up facilitates bookings for firms in local tours and activities sector Continue reading →

Booking Holdings has struck an agreement to buy FareHarbor, a bookings software developer and distribution platform for the tours and activities sector.

The start-up, which was founded in Hawaii in 2013, operates out of Denver and its senior management team will report to Booking.com chief following the buy out.

It provides software to facilitate bookings for firms in local tours and activities sector, one of the key battle grounds for the big global online travel firms.

Gillian Tans, chief executive of Booking.com, said: “Today travel is fuelled by technology, yet the local experiences and attractions marketplace is still largely offline.

“FareHarbor’s technology allows local tours and attractions to easily bring their businesses online.

“We see an immense opportunity to leverage this technology to bring more local experiences online, benefitting the entire global travel ecosystem for both consumers and local businesses by allowing them to connect instantly through a seamless digital experience.”

Booking.com said FareHarbor will operate as an independent business within the company.

The acquisition has been approved by FareHarbor’s board of directors and stockholders and is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions.

No details of the value of the deal were disclosed, but speculation suggested FareHarbor will have been valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.