Hoteliers accuse Booking.com of ‘unfair business practices’

Hotrec members accuse the OTA of withholding guest data from hotel partners and preventing hotels from offering better rates on their own websites

Europe's hoteliers are increasingly dependent on major online travel agencies (OTAs) to fill rooms, often at the expense of direct bookings. However, half of these hoteliers report being treated unfairly and undercut on price by OTAs, according to Hotrec's 2024 Hotel Distribution Study.

Key takeaways

• Hotrec found "widespread complaints" from hoteliers about OTAs' "high commission rates" and accusations of "monopolistic practices. OTAs were frequently accused of "undercutting hotel rates with marketing budgets" and offering "unauthorized discounts and promotions without hotelier consent;
• More than two in five hotels (43%) reported being undercut on price by OTAs, with 16% experiencing this "frequently";
• Hotels also reported issues such as "difficulty contacting OTAs for support," "poor communication with guests booked through OTAs," and "difficulty tracking bookings from multiple OTA sources;"
• The study found that OTA multi-sourcing resulted in "pricing inconsistencies, booking errors, lack of direct guest contact, poor customer service, financial loss, operational burden, and reputational damage;
• Despite these problems, nearly half of hotels (48%) relied on OTAs to sell a third or more of their room nights, with 20% relying on them for more than half of their bookings. Smaller hotels were most dependent on OTAs.

Get the full story at Travel Weekly UK and Hotrec