Priceline?s tale of two cities

Priceline, the world’s second largest online travel services company by bookings after Expedia Inc, said net income fell 10.3 percent to US$517 million from a year earlier.
Bookings through the company, which operates its namesake website as well as Booking.com, OpenTable, Kayak and others, rose almost 11 percent to $14.96 billion in the quarter. Hotel room and rental car bookings experienced ?accelerating growth? for the second quarter in a row, it said.
?We believe we are well set up to deliver the largest quarter in our company’s history,? said chief executive officer Darren Huston, as reported by Reuters.
?Priceline.com continues to be a tale of two cities, with strong retail performance offset by a shrinking but still large name-your-own-price business,” Huston said on an investor call, noting that its feature allowing customers to suggest a price they would pay has hurt its business.
?OpenTable continued to produce double-digit domestic diner growth,? he said of the service, acquired by Priceline last year that allows customers to make restaurant reservations online.
?It?s on track to begin launching new international markets later this year.?