I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Booking.com (Bristol, England) in Jan 2015
Interview
Interview arranged through an agency. Initial process was somewhat disorganised and little notice was given for the interview itself. Format was an assessment centre, and I was one of 9. This was originally 11 but numbers dropped. The session the day before was only 2 people. The interviewing panel was made up of 4 people, including the HR manager, two sales managers and a projects consultant. They were friendly and not at all intimidating. Whilst I usually hate this format, I was lucky to be with a bunch of really nice people which made the whole thing a lot easier.
The first half hour is an introduction to Booking.com and the stats of the company. You will be expected to know these - number of countries, destinations, hotels, attributes such as no cancellation fee, recommendations etc. It's an interactive session so this is an ideal time to make yourself known. Shout out your answers.
Next comes two role plays
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
First role play is individual. The scenario is that you are a rep for B.C and you're at a trade show. You have to present yourself to a new hotel with the objective of getting them to use B.C as their OTA. They currently use a competitor. The key here is to ASK QUESTIONS. As many as you can think of. Don't do what I did and start throwing facts and figures at them. Establish their market and strategy first and apply the facts accordingly. Who is their ideal customer (holiday makers or corporate), what is their main focus (filled rooms of just mere footfall). I couldn't stop talking (and this is why I wasn't hired). As they finish up, try hard to get a meeting scheduled to come and see them at a later date. Be pushy. I wasn't.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Booking.com (Bengaluru) in Apr 2022
Interview
First was an HR Round - which was very smooth and friendly.
The second round was with the Hiring Manager where they check how compatible you are with the organisation and if you suit their work culture.
The third and final round was with the Country Head to recheck the compatibility and know me as a candidate.
The whole Interview process of Interview to Offer happened over a period of 20 days. All the interviewers were very courteous and professional.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you look at the future scenario in Travel Industry
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Booking.com in Sept 2016
Interview
Dealing with Bookings.com was a nightmare. They were unprofessional and had no respect for my time and contribution. They cancelled and rescheduled six times in less than a week and to top it off they made me wait 20 minutes on Skype at 9pm my time and didnt show up to the call. Then rescheduled to next day, apologised and cancelled on on the hour as he was sick. #EnoughSaid
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Can we reschedule the interview, again, for the 5th time asI am so busy?