7 ms·

And it really feels good to pay the hotel that offers the services, instead of some tech company in the US." Most of the times I booked through booking.com it

by kbart 9y ago

And it really feels good to pay the hotel that offers the services, instead of some tech company in the US." Most of the times I booked through booking.com it was "cash on arrival", so these sites are nothing more than ads. I think the problem is travel agencies, that book bulk of rooms to rent them later (just a guess, can't read the article itself due to paywall).

babuskov 9y ago
> Most of the times I booked through booking.com it was "cash on arrival", so these sites are nothing more than ads. I can confirm this. I believe the hotels only pay a monthly fee for listing and that's all.
- briandear 9y ago
  Not true. We pay a percentage of the reservation cost to Booking.com each month. TripAdvisor on the other hand, charges a yearly fee for an enhanced listing, no fee for the standard listing. So those pay on arrival bookings -- we get an invoice from Booking.com each month for those. Nothing on booking.com to my knowledge is pre-pay -- Booking never actually charges the guest's card. But we still get the invoice.
  - babuskov 9y ago
    Thanks for clearing that up.
usrusr 9y ago
> Most of the times I booked through booking.com it was "cash on arrival", so these sites are nothing more than ads. Expensive ads. Cash on arrival does not mean that the hotel does not pay a sizable commission. Roughly in the range as the cut iTunes, Play, Steam take for transactions that, unlike hotel service, create zero cost beyond the initial investment. Occasionally, hotels might even offer you a cheaper room if you cancel your reservation, to get out of that obligation. Maybe some sites are much cheaper, but the big ones like booking.com take everything they can, and they can take a lot.
- falsedan 9y ago
  > but the big ones like booking.com take everything they can, and they can take a lot. You mean, take as much as is offered? The hotels are free to let the rooms sit idle & refuse the bookings; they wouldn't pay these commissions if they didn't make business sense. A $100/night room that's empty generates $0 and costs $10-20 (amortised staffing and maintenance costs, insurance, permits, etc.) A $100/night room filled with a 30% commission generates $70 & nets ~$50. I think that most hotel managers would not list their preferences as: direct booking & ~$80 > empty & $0 > booking site & ~$50.
- kbart 9y ago
  Most of the times I book private apartments (I hate hotels), so I have to deal with their owners directly. None of them has complained yet that I've book through booking.com or offered an alternative way, so I assume the situation is not as dire as other commenters try to imply.
- briandear 9y ago
  iTunes charges 30%. Booking.com charges us 15%. 15% is a bargain considering they are an amazing source of customers who would have never found us otherwise.
falsedan 9y ago
> these sites are nothing more than ads You got it: they're traffic funnels that you pay per conversion.

by kbart 9y ago

babuskov 9y ago

> Most of the times I booked through booking.com it was "cash on arrival", so these sites are nothing more than ads. I can confirm this. I believe the hotels only pay a monthly fee for listing and that's all.

briandear 9y ago
Not true. We pay a percentage of the reservation cost to Booking.com each month. TripAdvisor on the other hand, charges a yearly fee for an enhanced listing, no fee for the standard listing. So those pay on arrival bookings -- we get an invoice from Booking.com each month for those. Nothing on booking.com to my knowledge is pre-pay -- Booking never actually charges the guest's card. But we still get the invoice.
- babuskov 9y ago
  Thanks for clearing that up.

usrusr 9y ago

> Most of the times I booked through booking.com it was "cash on arrival", so these sites are nothing more than ads. Expensive ads. Cash on arrival does not mean that the hotel does not pay a sizable commission. Roughly in the range as the cut iTunes, Play, Steam take for transactions that, unlike hotel service, create zero cost beyond the initial investment. Occasionally, hotels might even offer you a cheaper room if you cancel your reservation, to get out of that obligation. Maybe some sites are much cheaper, but the big ones like booking.com take everything they can, and they can take a lot.

falsedan 9y ago
> but the big ones like booking.com take everything they can, and they can take a lot. You mean, take as much as is offered? The hotels are free to let the rooms sit idle & refuse the bookings; they wouldn't pay these commissions if they didn't make business sense. A $100/night room that's empty generates $0 and costs $10-20 (amortised staffing and maintenance costs, insurance, permits, etc.) A $100/night room filled with a 30% commission generates $70 & nets ~$50. I think that most hotel managers would not list their preferences as: direct booking & ~$80 > empty & $0 > booking site & ~$50.
kbart 9y ago
Most of the times I book private apartments (I hate hotels), so I have to deal with their owners directly. None of them has complained yet that I've book through booking.com or offered an alternative way, so I assume the situation is not as dire as other commenters try to imply.
briandear 9y ago
iTunes charges 30%. Booking.com charges us 15%. 15% is a bargain considering they are an amazing source of customers who would have never found us otherwise.

falsedan 9y ago

> these sites are nothing more than ads You got it: they're traffic funnels that you pay per conversion.