KAYAK vs Hilton
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Leading travel metasearch engine owned by Booking Holdings; searches 100s of sites for flights, hotels, cars. Operates KAYAK, Momondo, and HotelsCombined.
About
KAYAK is a travel metasearch engine founded in 2004 by Steve Hafner and Paul English, acquired by Booking Holdings (then Priceline Group) for $1.8B in 2013. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, KAYAK aggregates flight, hotel, car rental, and vacation package results from hundreds of travel sites, enabling one-click comparison shopping. Its product suite includes KAYAK.com, the Momondo brand (acquired 2017), HotelsCombined, and a business travel management platform, KAYAK for Business.\n\nKAYAK's revenue model is primarily CPC (cost-per-click), charging airlines, OTAs, and hotels for qualified referrals rather than taking a booking commission. This metasearch model positions KAYAK as a neutral aggregator rather than a competing OTA, though it also offers direct booking through its platform in select categories. KAYAK for Business targets corporate travel managers with policy controls and expense integrations.\n\nAs a wholly owned subsidiary of Booking Holdings ($26.9B revenue FY2025), KAYAK does not report standalone financials. It remains one of the most visited travel websites globally, with over 300 million monthly searches across its brand portfolio. KAYAK's AI trip-planning features and integration with Booking.com inventory have strengthened its position as a one-stop travel research tool heading into 2026.
FY2024 Revenue: $11.174B (+9.17% YoY) | RevPAR +2.7% | 98,400 room openings in 2024 | Net unit growth: 7.3% | Franchise fees revenue +9.5% | System-wide RevPAR +3.7% | Americas RevPAR +3.1%
About
Hilton is one of the world's largest and most recognized hospitality companies, founded in 1919 by Conrad Hilton in Cisco, Texas, and headquartered today in McLean, Virginia. Built on a century of hotel operations, Hilton's core business model has evolved from direct hotel ownership to a capital-light franchise and management model that earns fees on rooms operated under its brand portfolio rather than owning the underlying real estate. This asset-light structure generates high-margin, recurring revenue while enabling rapid global expansion with franchisee capital.\n\nHilton's portfolio spans 22 distinct brands across the full spectrum of lodging — from the flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts and luxury Conrad and Waldorf Astoria brands to the extended-stay Homewood Suites and budget-friendly Hampton Inn. The company operates or franchises more than 7,600 properties worldwide, supported by the Hilton Honors loyalty program, which drives direct booking and customer retention across the portfolio. In 2024, Hilton opened 98,400 rooms — among its highest annual openings — growing its net system size by 7.3% and expanding its pipeline for continued fee growth.\n\nHilton reported FY2024 revenue of $11.174 billion, a 9.17% year-over-year increase, with RevPAR growth of 2.7% reflecting healthy leisure and business travel demand. As global travel volumes continue recovering and business travel normalizes post-pandemic, Hilton's combination of brand breadth, loyalty program scale, and a robust development pipeline positions it for sustained fee income growth. Its capital-light model translates network expansion into margin-accretive earnings without the balance sheet risk of direct real estate ownership.
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