Over the years, Booking.com has become the European leader in online reservations. According to a study by the European Hotel Federation, the site today holds more than 70 % of reservations on the continent.
But more and more hotels express their dissatisfaction with the domination of the platform and the commissions it takes. “We prefer that they reserve via us live, because on reservations via Booking, the commissions are still important. For us, this is an additional cost, ”explains Bernadette, manager of a hotel.
It nevertheless recognizes the “pros and cons” of the platform. “It is a good visual, a beautiful platform to make ourselves known but we would like, afterwards, not having to call on them and that people all reserve live via us. It would be ideal. »»
To avoid costs, this manager has set up a tip: “Once you receive a reservation via Booking, you contact customers and we ask them what they would like as a package. I count them to show them that it will come back to them cheaper if they reserve via us. And obviously, for us, it is also more interesting than they reserve live. When we explain that to them, then they cancel and they reserve via us, ”she says.
Legal action
Faced with the costs imposed by Booking, more than 10,000 European hoteliers require compensation. They launched a collective legal action against the online reservations platform for abusive pricing practices. They say they have undergone for 20 years financial damage, because of clauses which they consider as contrary to the law of competition.
“Booking did not allow you to sell at lower prices on other platforms, including, on the hotel’s own site. There was a financial damage which was caused by these abusive parity clauses which were imposed unilaterally for almost 20 years. So, all hotels are asked, and hosts in general, to collect all the invoices dating back to the last 20 years to demonstrate the impact and this cumulative commissions that have been paid in Booking to request compensation, “said Thierry Neyens, administrator of the Horeca Federation in Wallonia.
