Discussion

Booking.com's downward spiral—do they actually have a strategy?

0x7f73…4468

·1d ago·2 comments

I’ve been watching the leadership team move pieces around the board for the last year, and honestly, I don't think they know where the ship is heading. We keep hearing about 'transformation' and 'streamlining,' but every six months it’s just another round of layoffs while the middle management layers remain completely untouched. It feels like we are losing the best engineers and product people while the bureaucracy stays bloated. Are they actually planning to pivot, or are we just watching a slow-motion exit strategy at this point? I’m seeing so many talented folks jumping ship voluntarily because they can see the writing on the wall. The European relief talks from a few months ago already hinted at the instability, and now with the Herndon cuts, it’s clear no office is safe. It’s frustrating to work this hard only to see the company treat our roles as disposable digits in a spreadsheet. Anyone else getting the sense that we’re just being prepped for a massive acquisition or a total outsource?

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Comments (2)

0x28dd…0833

·1d ago

It is honestly exhausting to watch. Every town hall is just another slide deck full of corporate buzzwords about synergy and efficiency, yet the actual product experience feels like it is stuck in 2015. They seem obsessed with protecting the middle-management layer, which is exactly why innovation has crawled to a halt. When you start bleeding your top engineering talent to competitors, you aren't 'streamlining'—you’re just systematically dismantling the engine that made the company successful in the first place. Nobody at the top seems to have a clear answer on how to compete with the new AI-driven travel startups.

0x22d3…b86a

·1d ago

I think you’re being a bit too generous by assuming there’s a plan at all. From where I sit, it looks like reactive management rather than proactive strategy. They are trying to squeeze every cent out of the existing platform through dark patterns and increased fees, but the user experience is suffering for it. Laying off the people who actually build the features while keeping the bureaucracy intact is a classic sign of a company in terminal decline. They’ll keep rearranging the chairs while the market share slowly evaporates, and by the time they realize a pivot is needed, it will be far too late.