Hoteliers not happy with Booking.com's new prepayment policy

The OTA has begun to eliminate prepayment plans from hotels and replace them with Payments by Booking (PbB) - at a much higher cost

In an email to affiliates, Booking.com cites security concerns as the reason for the policy change. A significant risk of financial fraud attacks targeting travelers occurs when visitors to Booking.com make reservations based on prepaid policies offered by partners using the "agency model" (i.e., partners who prefer to accept payment directly and send payment links to visitors through our platform). Attackers have exploited this process by creating seemingly legitimate requests that can easily trick travelers.

To mitigate this risk, Booking.com is now offering two options to its partners:

1. Partners who prefer to charge guests directly can continue to do so with non-prepaid policies;

2. Partners who prefer to receive prepayments can use Payments by Booking (PbB) to collect prepayments, cancellations and no-show fees.

However, some hoteliers have raised concerns about this new policy, pointing out that Booking.com benefits financially by holding the money and earning interest, while at the same time increasing the cost of its virtual card payment commissions from 1.1% to 3%.

Read more about the topic at Hospitality.Net, Money-Tourism, and Booking.com