Who wants booking.com? More than 10,000 European hotels are launching collective legal action against the room booking platform. They wish to obtain compensation for losses caused by the use of “best price” clauses, which forced hotels to reserve their most advantageous rates for Booking. And this, in order to prevent Internet users from making their identification on the website, before going to book with hotels.
Hotel professionals are also generally unhappy with the importance of the platform, and of the commission which it seizes in passing on reservations. More and more vacationers are using booking or other similar sites, such as Abritel, Tripadvisor or Airbnb. According to a study by the Cetelem observatory for The Parisianin 2021, it was the case of one in two French people. But, why this craze for dematerialization?
The choice of ease
For Laurence, the forties of the public service and mother of two children, for example, it is a matter of practicality and saving time. “I find Airbnb more and more expensive so I wanted to try the hotels again,” she explains, freshly returned from a long weekend in Bruges. Booking is more practical to be able to compare and locate all the places available on a map, realize if they are ready to visit. “There is just to type a word, and all the research and comparison work is done on its own,” abounds Thomas, 29 -year -old high school teacher.
If ease often comes back, the other argument that comes back is the price. “There are often reductions or interesting prices, or in any case the site manages to give us the impression that we are doing a good deal by putting forward consequent promotions”, judge Nina, 25, Parisian, who went there for her recent trip to Albania. Elodie, 27, is often brought to move and sleep at the hotel for her sales work. “After a few reservations, there are often discounts, sometimes free breakfasts or partnerships with airlines for miles,” she lists.
“With the Internet, I don’t need to talk to people”
The back of the medal of these advantages is the commissions that the platform takes on each reservation. A practice that had already motivated the start of a first approach of French and Spanish hoteliers in the spring. “I know that the platforms take a commission, despite everything I know that the cheapest room online will be more advantageous than many reservations directly at the hotel,” says Thomas. Also, I’m a little lazy, and with the internet I don’t need to talk to people. »»
Because yes, the last argument from the gen z is: the laziness of the phone. “If I can avoid talking on the phone, I do,” says Nina, categorical. Especially in foreign countries, where contact with a hotel could be more complex because of the language or call costs. Despite all these advantages, the battle is not completely lost for hotel professionals. In July, the repression of fraud gave Booking six months to comply with some of his practices. The DGCCRF notably accuses it of not complying with European legislation, of having passed clauses that are non -compliant in its contracts with hoteliers, and of maintaining opacity on the algorithm which classifies professionals on the platform.
