Booking.com

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
ronsat
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Booking.com

Post by ronsat »

I have seen some positive comments about booking.com here - but have concerns after reading their contract.
1. It appears that they accept a booking - and that's it - your are "not allowed to cancel any reservation". No back and forth. No ability to vet your customers. So, what happens if someone had just reserved on another site - and the property is no longer available?
2. You cannot advertise a cheaper price on your own website. However, with their 15% markup, I would definitely want to advertise a cheaper price on my own site. There was a comment earlier on this site that such a commitment to not offer a lower price was not legal in France - however, it is part of the contract.

Thoughts?
We are Canadians who love spending time in Languedoc.
http://www.languedocvacationhome.ca
AndrewH
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Re: Booking.com

Post by AndrewH »

ronsat wrote:...There was a comment earlier on this site that such a commitment to not offer a lower price was not legal in France - however, it is part of the contract.

Thoughts?
Very often the law of the country which is applicable to a written contract will be stated as a term of the contract. Usually, it is the very last clause. If the contract is silent on the matter, then there are certain rules of international law which can be applied.

If a 'restraint of trade' clause appears in a contract but the applicable jurisdiction does not allow it, then it won't be enforceable even though it is written there. That is the theory; in practice, Booking might take the law into their own hands and take down the advertisement for that reason. THEY WOULD BE IN BREACH OF CONTRACT, but sadly one never hears of these big OTA's being taken to task when they step out of line.
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

My advert on bdotcom gives prices 15% more than ABB and other sites to cover the commission. Never had a problem with that. In fact I get more bookings from bdotcom than the others despite the higher price.
If you accidently get a double booking (happened to me) bdotcom ask you to find an alternative for the guest at a nearby place and at a similar cost.
Honi soit qui peu y boit
newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

Booking.com has a price match. https://www.booking.com/general.en-gb.h ... _guarantee.

So you need to have slightly different terms on the various sites otherwise the guest can claim a refund under these terms and presumably booking would look to recover this from you.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

T&Cs for a listing in Booking can easily be changed to other sites.
What I do not understand in NT link is what is meant by
If your current reservation is Booking.basic or if you are comparing with Booking.basic.
What is booking.basic?
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
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Cymraes
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Post by Cymraes »

casasantoestevo wrote:T&Cs for a listing in Booking can easily be changed to other sites.
What I do not understand in NT link is what is meant by
If your current reservation is Booking.basic or if you are comparing with Booking.basic.
What is booking.basic?
A quick google search throws up this link and several more

https://www.mirai.com/blog/booking-com- ... ing-basic/
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

thanks
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
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