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Booking Holdings (BKNG) to Expand Presence in the Asia Pacific

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Booking Holdings’ (BKNG - Free Report) online restaurant reservation service provider OpenTable joined forces with the inline group, a software provider catering to the needs of the restaurants in East Asia.

With the help of this partnership, users of OpenTable will be able to book reservations and order food at restaurants in the region. Customers of inline will also benefit as they can access OpenTable’s worldwide dining network.

Further, BKNG’s OpenTable made a financial investment in inline, which is in sync with its continuous efforts toward advancement in technology and the restaurant space.

On the back of this recent collaboration, OpenTable aims to widen its reach to restaurant operators and diners in the Asia Pacific region. This is expected to help OpenTable generate more revenues from the region.

This, in turn, will help Booking Holdings expand its footprint in the Asia Pacific and drive its top line in the coming days.

This will aid BKNG gain investors’ confidence in the near and long terms.

Shares of Booking Holdings have been down 21.2% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector’s decline of 27.7%.

Growing Efforts in the Food Industry

OpenTable’s recent partnership with inline will help Booking Holdings penetrate the booming Asia Pacific food service market, which is expected to see a CAGR of 31.2% between 2022 and 2027, per a Market Data Forecast report.

Apart from focusing on the Asia Pacific market, Booking Holdings is consistently making global efforts through OpenTable in the restaurant space, which is helping BKNG gain momentum worldwide.

Last year, OpenTable released a video series called Restaurants on the Rebound to boost the confidence of restaurant owners amid the pandemic. OpenTable seated more than 135 million diners during the pandemic, with the restaurants bearing no costs.

These initiatives are continuously helping Booking Holdingssurvive in the global restaurant business. Restaurant sales have been showing an upward trend of late. Per a U.S. Census Bureau report, eating and drinking places registered total sales of $85 billion in May, up 0.7% sequentially.

Competitive Restaurant Space

OpenTable’s growing efforts are helping Booking Holdings gain a competitive edge against other companies like TripAdvisor (TRIP - Free Report) and Yelp (YELP - Free Report) .

TripAdvisor’s brand TheFork helps diners quickly find a restaurant, check real-time availability, book a table and receive confirmation in just a few clicks. Moreover, its YUMS loyalty program offers huge discounts to customers. This helps TRIP gain momentum among the customers.

Shares of TripAdvisor have been down 32.5% on the year-to-date basis.

Yelp offers Yelp Reservations to restaurants, which along with reservations provides a table management system, including waitlist, basic server management and reservation management. Further, Yelp’s subsidiary SeatMe offers online reservations, walk-ins, waitlist management, pre-paid ticketing, future table assignment and direct SMS with guests without cover charges.

Shares of Yelp have been down 21.8% on the year-to-date basis.

Zacks Rank & Another Stock to Consider

Currently, Booking Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the retail-wholesale sector can also consider Arcos Dorados (ARCO - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Arcos Dorados has gained 18.7% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for the ARCOstock is currently projected at 34.4%.

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