Booking Holdings’ first Center of Excellence officially opens in Romania

Booking Holdings, the world's leading provider of online travel and related services, celebrated the official opening of its first Center of Excellence in Bucharest, Romania on September 15.

Representing a projected investment of EUR 100 million over 5 years, the opening of the Booking Holdings Center of Excellence in Bucharest is expected to create 500 jobs within this time.

To officially mark the opening and welcome Booking Holdings to the 4,000 square meter space in the brand-new U Center building in the city center, a private event was held with guests including the Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization Sebastian Burduja, State Counselor for Innovation Sorin Costreie, and Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy Pamela Ward.

"I am grateful for the fact that Booking Holdings has chosen Romania for its first Center of Excellence,” said Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digitization. “Your presence here is a testament to your company's vision, and to this country's resources. Romania has a lot to offer, especially in the tech space."

The Center of Excellence has been opened to provide access to specialized and highly skilled talent, support projects powered by new and emerging technologies, leverage industry best practices, and foster collaboration opportunities across all the Booking Holdings brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable and Rentalcars.com.

Currently, the new Center of Excellence in Bucharest will focus on supporting core CyberSecurity and Fraud monitoring capabilities, IT Infrastructure, and Procurement Analytics, with new capabilities in other areas being added throughout this year and into 2023.

Spread over an entire 4000 square meter floor, the Center aims to create a flexible and inclusive workplace experience. The office theme and design concepts, developed by Gensler, draw on elements from different cultures and regions around the world to evoke the spirit of travel and cultural diversity. Traditional textiles from Romania have been used in meeting rooms and team areas, with color schemes inspired by the different Booking Holdings brands.

“When we were looking for the best place to open our first Center of Excellence, we wanted somewhere that would meet the needs of our dynamic, diverse, and digital-first organization, both today and as we continue to grow and evolve in the future,” says Paulo Pisano, Chief Human Resources Officer for Booking Holdings. “Bucharest’s abundance of diversified and multilingual talent, including strong functional capabilities in relevant areas, the quantity, and expertise of partner providers in the market, a high-grade digital infrastructure, promising national economic growth, and available cutting-edge office facilities, all played into our decision to open here. We are very much looking forward to expanding our presence in this vibrant and exciting city.”