Here’s an app you might want to have handy the next time you go on a fly-by-night vacation: Booking.com launched an app on Thursday, Booking Now, which simplifies the process of finding a hotel at the last minute.
Booking Now isn’t replacing the existing Booking app for iPhones, but it could end up superseding it eventually. It’s an attractive modern mobile user interface over the existing Booking.com service with one catch. Because it’s a same-day booking app, you can only book a room for tonight or tomorrow. After your provide your email and a few accommodation preferences, like how much you’re willing to pay and whether you’d like Wi-Fi, you’re swiping left and right like Tinder to search your nearby lodging matches.
Booking.com is one of several travel companies, including OpenTable and Kayak, owned by U.S.-based Priceline. As one of the major legacy booking companies, its system tracks a lot of rooms — more than 580,000 properties, according to the…