Priceline, the booking.com owner, has unveiled the numerous concerns they have about the European accommodation-only market. However, in the 2nd quarter, Priceline still managed to raise their gross bookings across the globe by 80% in comparison to the 2nd quarter of last year. Wall Street was told by them that their growth would turn out to be between 80 and 90 percent. While the European business of booking.com makes up the majority of the number, APAC bedbank Agoda has started to grab onto more traction. Jeff Boyd, the Chief Executive, told analysts that they think that the amount of their business that is represented by the United Kingdom is a less percentage than that of their competitors.

During the 2nd quarter earnings conference call this week, Robert Mylod, the Chief Financial Officer of the company, said that their growth came in lower than their guidance and offered details surpassing those of the widely knowledgeable economic slowdown conditions panning the globe. Their greatest concern is the slight fall in the average price of a hotel room per night. ASPs dropped by 1.5% during the quarter when the business had anticipated them to stay flat. The fall more than canceled the benefits of foreign exchange, which were more than they anticipated. Mylod also stated that they saw a rise in their reservation cancellation rate as well during the quarter, knocking several points off of their hotel room growth.

Not all was bad though. Boyd said that they saw a healthy rise in the amount of business that came from booking.com. This pushed the marketing spend of Priceline below guidance, while helping to lift the operating margins. The company also continues to add hotels, currently having over 52,000 among 85 countries.

Go to www.priceline.com -or- www.booking.com to find out more.