Recent stock market flotations of firms like WorldOnline, Lastminute.com and Lycos Europe have failed to impress.
Investors had to pay 380p per share when Lastminute.com listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Fierce competition in the travel market and doubts over Lastminute.com's profitability further hurt the firm's share price.
Priceline will launch in Europe in the autumn, potentially providing competition to UK e-commerce start-ups such as Lastminute.com.
Lastminute's subscriber base rose 20% to 4.21m in the quarter, viewed as the most important for the travel sector.
Online holiday and leisure retailer Lastminute.com has reported widening losses but stuck by forecasts of hitting breakeven in the spring.
"The company does change when you go public, " co-founder of online travel site Lastminute.com Martha Lane Fox told the BBC.
That is a lesson which Lastminute.com has taken on board, recruiting the former Asda chief executive Allan Leighton as its Chairman.
And the boom crossed the Atlantic, with UK travel company Lastminute.com, lead by Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox, floating on the London stock market.
The nightclub investment, which was only announced last week, perhaps shows that while Lane Fox is committed to Lastminute, she is also keen to spread her influence wider.
US-based parent company Expedia.com reported a "steadily recovering travel business", while the UK's Lastminute.com has said it does not expect a significant drop in takings following the attacks.
Other internet companies, like Amazon.com, eBay, or even Lastminute.com, have shown that longer-term thinking and careful management can produce some profit, and enough growth to keep investors on board.
The deal with a strong partner like Microsoft will be welcome news for Lastminute.com shareholders, who have seen the value of their investment plummet by 75% from its peak.
Others include Lukasz Gadowski, founder of Spreadshirt, a shopping site, and Brent Hoberman, co-founder of lastminute.com, a travel site, who is a partner in PROfounders, an early-stage investment firm.
Back then a tiny business called lastminute.com arrived on the stockmarket to huge excitement, its price pumped to ridiculous levels by investors who were desperate not to miss out on the latest hot dotcom stock.
They have managed to assemble a stellar cast list - including the creator of the World Wide Web, the founders of YouTube and Lastminute, and a member of the Royal Family - and persuade them to be mildly teased by a group of school children.
应用推荐