[3][4][5] In 2000, Booking.com was formed when Bookings.nl merged with Bookings Online, founded by Sicco and Alec Behrens, Marijn Muyser, and Bas Lemmens, which operated as Bookings.org.

[7] The integrations of Booking.com and Active Hotels helped its parent company improve its financial position from a loss of $19 million in 2002 to $1.1 billion in profit in 2011.

[8] Between 2010 and 2012, the company launched mobile apps for the iPad, Android,[9] iPhone,[10] iPod Touch,[11] Windows 8,[12] and Kindle Fire.

[16][14] In November 2023, Booking.com launched the ability to make cruise reservations in the United States, in partnership with World Travel Holdings.

[23] In September 2012, the United Kingdom's competition authority, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), issued a statement of objections against Booking.com, Expedia, and IHG Army Hotels alleging that Booking.com and Expedia had entered into separate arrangements with IHG which restricted the online travel agent's ability to discount the price of room-only hotel accommodation.

[24][25] In April 2015, French, Swedish and Italian competition authorities accepted a proposal by Booking.com to drop its "rate parity" clause and thereby allow competitor travel agents to offer lower hotel prices than Booking.com.

[28] In April 2015, the European Union warned that Booking.com is one of several internet firms that may have reached market dominance beyond the point of no return.

[35] In July 2019, luxury-hotel chain Aldemar, invoking "practices [by Booking.com] that go against the laws of the market," terminated its participation in Booking's offerings.

The Greek Hotels Association denounced the practice of Bookings.com of charging its percentage fee on the VAT-inclusive full-room price.

Changes were also made to make sure that sponsored listings were flagged and that the total price was presented to consumers.

[42] Booking Holdings Inc, was sued by Texas for allegedly engaging in deceptive trade practices in citing hotel room prices in 2023.

In 2023, the BBC's Watchdog discovered that guests had been contacted by fraudsters over the official Booking.com messaging system, spoof emails, and WhatsApp resulting in financial loss and leaked customer data.

[49] In November 2023, the BBC highlighted that the practice had become so lucrative that cyber criminals were offering up to $2,000 (£1,600) for login details of hotels.

Hosts from Scotland,[51] England, Europe,[52] Australia,[53] New Zealand,[54] Sweden,[55] Netherland,[56] Denmark,[57] Croatia,[58] Hungary, Cyprus,[59] Japan,[60] Thailand, and Indonesia say they were affected.