Managing Director Attractions in Manchester

About Booking.com Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch start‑up to one of the largest e‑commerce companies in the world. It is the largest business within Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) and accounts for the vast majority of the group's total revenue. Booking Holdings is a leading Fortune 500 e‑commerce conglomerate with a market cap of roughly $75 billion (2022). Booking.com currently employs approximately 10,000 employees in 120+ offices in 70 countries worldwide.

Profile The Managing Director – Attractions & Experiences is a commercially driven, product‑minded and highly strategic leader who will shape and scale Booking.com’s global Attractions & Experiences business in line with the company’s strategy and mission. The role leads the vision, builds a compelling traveller proposition and accelerates supply, demand, partnerships and innovation. The Managing Director will act as the senior leader for the business, with responsibility for the P&L and the integration of commercial, product, marketing, operations and partner strategy to create a category‑defining experience offering within the broader Booking.com travel ecosystem.

Key Priorities

• Further develop the supply strategy to ensure a strong offer and availability for customers and a compelling partner value proposition.
• Ensure best‑in‑class customer experience so customers can plan, book and manage their Attractions & Experiences bookings.
• Partner with other business units to strengthen market position and accelerate demand generation and cross‑sell opportunities.
• Maintain effective leadership, governance, operating cadence and a performance culture within the vertical.
• Effectively and responsibly integrate AI into processes and ways of working to increase productivity and improve the customer proposition.

Key Relationships

• Reports to: SVP, Trips.
• Direct reports: Product, Commercial and Operations leaders within the Attractions/Experiences organisation (3).
• Key peers: MDs for other Trips verticals and business unit peers including Accommodations, Marketplace, Fintech, Marketing and Finance.

Location Flexible – Amsterdam (preferred) / Manchester / London. Travel required.

Key Responsibilities

• Business leadership and strategy Define and lead the long‑term strategy for Booking.com’s Attractions & Experiences vertical, aligned with company priorities and traveller needs. Set a clear vision for how attractions and experiences can become a differentiated and material growth engine within the connected trip proposition. Own the vertical’s business performance, including growth, profitability and partner quality. Identify new growth opportunities across geographies, customer segments, inventory types and business models.
• Commercial growth and marketplace development Build and scale a high‑quality global supply base across activities, attractions, tickets and experience providers. Develop commercial strategies that improve assortment, availability, pricing competitiveness and conversion. Lead relationships with key strategic partners, distributors, operators and ecosystem players. Drive marketplace health by balancing traveller demand, partner success, operational excellence and unit economics.
• Product and customer proposition Partner closely with Product and Technology leaders to create a best‑in‑class traveller and partner experience. Champion a customer‑first approach that improves discovery, merchandising, booking flow, trust, flexibility and post‑booking experience. Ensure the vertical benefits from Booking.com’s broader platform strengths in personalization, cross‑sell, mobile, payments and loyalty. Help shape the roadmap for differentiated experiences products that strengthen brand relevance and repeat engagement.
• Cross‑functional leadership Serve as the senior point of alignment across Commercial, Product, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Analytics, Legal and Customer Service. Lead through influence across a complex matrix organisation, ensuring clarity of priorities, ownership and outcomes. Build operating rhythms, KPIs and governance mechanisms that improve decision‑making and execution speed. Represent the business with senior internal stakeholders, external partners and industry forums.
• Operational excellence Establish clear performance metrics and business reviews across supply growth, conversion, attachment, repeat, NPS, partner satisfaction and margin. Drive execution discipline and accountability across teams to deliver against ambitious goals. Ensure scalability of processes, tools and operating models as the business grows. Partner with legal, compliance and trust teams to uphold high standards around safety, quality and regulatory requirements.
• Team leadership Build, inspire and develop a high‑performing leadership team for the vertical. Attract top talent and foster a culture of pace, ownership, innovation and collaboration. Coach leaders across multiple functions and geographies, creating strong succession and capability depth. Act as a visible and motivating leader who can align teams behind a compelling ambition.

Ideal Experience and Skills

• Significant senior leadership experience in marketplaces, e‑commerce or another fast‑scaling digital platform business.
• Experience in Travel and Experiences is desirable but not mandatory.
• Proven track record of owning and scaling a complex consumer‑facing business or category with meaningful revenue responsibility.
• Strong commercial experience, including supply‑side strategy, partner negotiations, business development and go‑to‑market execution.
• Strong understanding of marketplace dynamics, including liquidity, pricing, conversion, partner economics and customer behaviour.
• Experience working closely with product and technology organisations to shape digital products and customer journeys.
• Demonstrated success leading cross‑functional and international teams in a matrixed environment.
• Experience setting strategy while also driving operational execution and performance management.
• Ideally brings experience in tours, activities, attractions, ticketing, leisure, online travel or adjacent consumer internet sectors.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or equivalent advanced degree is a plus.

Strategic and Commercial Leadership

• Strong strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into measurable business outcomes.
• Excellent commercial instincts and a sharp understanding of what drives scalable growth with ability to negotiate effectively and build long‑term partnerships.
• Data‑driven individual, with the ability to make high‑quality decisions in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments.

Customer and Product Orientation

• Deep commitment to customer experience and a strong intuition for what creates traveller value.
• Comfortable partnering with product and tech teams to prioritise features, propositions and platform investments.
• Data‑informed, with strong analytical judgement and fluency in performance metrics.

Leadership and Influence

• Exceptional leadership presence with credibility to engage at executive and board level.
• Highly effective in matrixed environments; able to align senior stakeholders without relying solely on direct authority.
• Strong negotiator and people leader with a track record of building trust, developing talent and raising the performance bar.

Execution and Resilience

• Action‑oriented, with a bias for pace and accountability.
• Comfortable balancing long‑term ambition with near‑term delivery.
• Resilient, adaptable and effective in navigating change, complexity and competing priorities.

Communication and Partnership

• Outstanding communicator, both internally and externally.
• Strong negotiation and relationship‑management skills.
• Able to represent Booking.com with senior partners and industry stakeholders in a compelling way.