Ciao,VenereExpediaclosesheadwindfacinghotelbookingsite

Venere – the European hotel site once considered to be a part of Expedia’s attempt to counter the rise of Booking.com – is no more.

Expedia Inc confirmed earlier reports into its demise, saying the brand has “faced a number of headwinds” and therefore a decision had been made to close the brand.

The site is already redirecting traffic to fellow accommodation booking brand Hotels.com.

An official says the brand has “undergone a period of significant change” and, following a restructuring of the business, all consumer activity would be transferred to the sister site.

Venere site stopped taking new bookings on the 1 December 2016, the official says, adding:

“We continue to run the travel agency (B2B) operations in Italy.”