Gillian Tans

China's domestic travel is increasing, and that's why we are building our teams here in China. ”

Starting a business and building a product are not for the faint of heart. You have to learn to not let little disappointments get you down and to stay focused on the big picture. ”

There are a lot of threats out there. Amazon can enter the travel market. Google could enter the accommodation space. But that is not something that we actively focus on. ”

There are a few books I can recommend, but one you should read for sure is 'Do More Faster,' a book full of advice for young entrepreneurs. Looking back at the early days of Booking.com, I recognize a lot of things that feature in this the book - like 'fail fast, learn quickly.' ”

An American customer can book in English all over the world, but also, somebody from Japan or China can book in their own language everywhere. We translate all of our content into these languages, and that's quite unique. We service our direct customers - the innkeepers - as well in their own language. ”

We have built out the diversity of our product teams, and we saw the caliber of our testing and experimentation improve significantly. ”

Traveling changes you as a person. If you buy something, it's so different than if you put your money into traveling. ”

Booking.com started with just a website, but we've always thought of our company as being more than just a website. ”

Instead of traveling on a weekend, begin your trip on a Tuesday or Wednesday, which are often the cheapest days to fly. Being flexible with timing can help with savings. ”

There's no point being at the airport longer than needed. ”