> A spokesperson said in early July that they were based on an incorrect interpretation of previous rulings. “It is absolutely nonsense to claim that Booking.com has artificially inflated prices.”
Interesting angle
ramesh31 · 2h ago
Maybe it's just me, but the OTA aggregators seem like a relic from a bygone era at this point. Its been at least a decade since I've seen a hotel that didn't have their own online booking system, and using it guarantees you will never have any issues that the hotel themselves can't (or won't) handle. It seems like these companies are existing solely on inertia and marketing at this point; there's not only zero benefit to using them, but they can and do completely screw you over and ruin vacations on a regular basis.
wodenokoto · 2h ago
I mostly book through booking or hotels.com and I find that they make it easy to do comparison and discovery, they are often cheaper than the source website, and even large international chains can have booking systems that are cumbersome enough to to drop and return to booking.com and finish it there. I have never been to a hotel that considered a booking.com booking as "less" than one from their own system.
headcanon · 1h ago
I think they have value as a discovery method and aggregator. If you know the hotel you want, yes you're better off going direct, but if you want to browse its nice to have.
First-party websites to book directly + better aggregators/search like ChatGPT are eroding this value pretty rapidly though. If they leaned into comprehensive trip planning they might have a shot of staying relevant.
ksec · 2h ago
Hotel's own website are also often the most expensive options. Which is why consumer goes to other site to sign up.
gamblor956 · 1h ago
Booking sites like expedia and booking.com sell a certain kind of inventory: "bulk" inventory or last-minute unbooked inventory. It's why you don't generally get loyalty points or other benefits when using these sites.
To put it another way: the hotels are the customer, not the guests. Expedia/booking.com are helping the hotels with inventory management. A guest is just the way these sites offset their costs.
Interesting angle
First-party websites to book directly + better aggregators/search like ChatGPT are eroding this value pretty rapidly though. If they leaned into comprehensive trip planning they might have a shot of staying relevant.
To put it another way: the hotels are the customer, not the guests. Expedia/booking.com are helping the hotels with inventory management. A guest is just the way these sites offset their costs.