Booking.com has always been a benchmark for hoteliers
It did not take long for the phrase “If you are not on Booking.com, you do not exist” to spread through sales offices. Its user-friendly design, low commission, translations into dozens of languages and straightforward extranet made it a worldwide benchmark.
It was the perfect partner: it always respected rate parity, guests paid directly at the hotel, and everything was transparent.
It was around 2012 when I discovered that Booking.com also worked as an affiliate with websites such as Rumbo. I found out because of a booking issue: a guest said they had booked through that site, but our voucher showed Booking.com. At first, I did not think much of it. After all, the guest paid at the hotel and the rate would always be respected.
The problem arises with virtual credit cards used to collect payment for non-refundable rooms—a little sweetener offered to holiday hotels that struggle with cash flow during long winters.
It is true that, today, hotels do not have to charge non-refundable rates through a virtual card, as long as the rate is not 100% non-refundable—that is, it has a restrictive cancellation policy but still allows cancellation during some period (for example, free cancellation up to 60 days before arrival).
But I am beginning to sense a hidden agenda, and several questions come to mind:
- Will guests be given the option to prepay their booking in exchange for some kind of benefit?
- Will Booking.com use the opacity offered by its affiliates, such as Muchoviaje or Destinia, to start dumping rates?
- Is it already happening?
- Will we be able to control or identify how many rooms are sold through affiliates and how many through the Booking.com platform itself?