An online trading agency, not a technology company. - Software Developer Booking.com Employee Review

2.0
2 Sept 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Dynamic, live environment, good work-life balance, multinational teams of virtually every nation on Earth. Generally good business process and goals, good understanding of its business. Data-driven approach.

Cons

Software engineering in Booking.com is very clearly just a business tool, e.g. refactoring, testing, code reviews, proper software architecture are rare and not encouraged, the mantra is "being pragmatic and getting things done". You will not learn how to be a good software engineer here, except for trainee/junior positions. The codebase is a giant monolithic ball of Perl with all of its drawbacks. Technology is very conservative and often shortsighted. The company is hostile to non-iterative and breaking changes. Values of the company are good on the surface, but shortsighted, oversold and often have a lot of real life drawbacks (although effective enough to earn good money). The attitude "we don't care about what customers do not see" is steadily hurting the company from the inside, and huge network effect allows the company to sit on top of its huge hotel/user base.

Explore other reviews about Booking.com

5.0
30 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great, definitely recommend if looking for start up

Cons

No cons all pros only

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Booking.com Response
1w
Hi, thank you for the wonderful feedback! We're so glad to hear that Booking.com has been a great fit for someone with a startup mindset. Our culture of experimentation and innovation is something we're really proud of, and it's great to know it resonates. We hope you continue to thrive here! The Booking.com team
3.0
4 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexibility, make your own schedule

Cons

NO learning and development Opportunities for growth often required moving into a different role or team found the compensation to be below market

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