Booking.com
Booking.com is one of the largest online travel agencies. It is headquartered in Amsterdam, and is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.[1] In 2022, the company's mobile app was the most downloaded mobile app in the travel agency category.[2] As of December 31, 2022, Booking.com provides lodging reservation services for approximately 2.7 million properties, including 400,000 hotels, motels, and resorts and 2.3 million homes, apartments in over 220 countries and in over 40 languages. It also sells flights in 54 markets and tours and activities in more than 1,200 cities.[2]
Type of business
Travel and accommodation services
43 languages
1996
Enschede, Netherlands
Global
Glenn Fogel
Online Travel Agency
$18.17B
$5.102B
$4.024B
$25.20B
21,600
Booking.com Consulting Services Pte. Ltd.
Yes
Optional
1996
Online
Controversies and criticism[edit]
Anti-competitive allegations[edit]
In September 2012, the United Kingdom's competition authority, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), issued a statement of objections against Booking.com, Expedia, and IHG Army Hotels alleging that Booking.com and Expedia had entered into separate arrangements with IHG which restricted the online travel agent's ability to discount the price of room only hotel accommodation. Booking.com, Expedia and IHG proposed the OFT to change their restrictions. The OFT accepted the proposal, but it was later rejected by higher authority at a tribunal.[25][26]
In April 2015, French, Swedish and Italian competition authorities accepted a proposal by Booking.com to drop its "rate parity" clause and thereby allow competitor travel agents to offer lower hotel prices than Booking.com.[27] Booking.com further agreed to extend and apply its proposal across all EU states.[28] Hotels are still prevented from discounting prices directly on their own websites.[29]
In April 2015, the European Union warned that Booking.com is one of several internet firms that may have reached market dominance beyond the point of no return.[30]
In March 2017, a Turkish court halted activities of Booking.com in Turkey due to a violation of Turkish competition law in a case filed by the Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TÜRSAB). The ruling blocked the website in Turkey; however, website and application can be used from foreign countries to make reservations for hotels in Turkey.[31][32]
Leaks of customer data[edit]
In November 2014, it was revealed that criminals were able to obtain customer details from the website. Booking.com said it was countering the fraudsters and refunding customers from the UK, US, France, Italy, the UAE, and Portugal, all of which had been affected. Since the fraud, Booking.com has made changes so data can only be accessed from a computer linked to the hotel's server. Its teams have also worked to "takedown" dozens of phishing sites, as well as working with some banks to freeze the money mule bank accounts.[33]
The website was again targeted by hackers in June 2018.[34]
On April 6, 2021, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) imposed a €475,000 fine on the company for failing to report the breach within the time frame mandated by the General Data Protection Regulation. Criminals obtained the personal data of over 4,000 customers including the credit card information of almost 300 people.[35]
Brand hijacking accusations by German hotelier[edit]
In February 2015, an open letter published by German hotelier Marco Nussbaum, co-founder and CEO of the "prizeotel" budget-design hotel brand, was highly critical of Booking.com's "brand hijacking" activity in which the company bids significant sums of money to be the top listing on Google Search for several hotel brands.[36]
Charging commissions on prices including VAT[edit]
In July 2019, luxury-hotel chain Aldemar, invoking "practices [by Booking.com] that go against the laws of the market," terminated its participation in Booking's offerings. The Greek Hotels Association denounced the practice of Bookings.com of charging its percentage fee on the VAT-inclusive full-room price. The company responded that according to the terms of its bilateral agreements with hotels "everywhere," each party to such an agreement is free to walk away from it.[37][38]
In November 2023, Booking.com agreed to pay roughly 94 million euros to settle a VAT/tax dispute in Italy.[39]