4 ms·

>"It's hard to quantify negative impact of future dealings, but it's even harder to say Booking.com should change their methods when the people aware enough to

>"It's hard to quantify negative impact of future dealings, but it's even harder to say Booking.com should change their methods when the people aware enough to be annoyed continue to give them money" Please tell me how to avoid the duopoly that is Booking.com(Priceline Group) and Expedia in Europe? Especially so when making new booking on short notice. Booking.com has maintained close to 60% market share: http://www.hotrec.eu/newsroom/press-releases-1714/dominant-online-platforms-gaining-market-share-in-travel-trade-no-signs-of-increased-competition-between-online-travel-agents-unveils-european-hotel-distribution-study.aspx http://www.hotrec.eu/newsroom/press-releases-1714/dominant-o...

sturgill 9y ago
I don't actually travel much, and have never used Booking.com. So no dog in this fight. But your question is pretty much my point: if people aren't going to use some other service, it's a lot harder to quantify long-term negative impacts of dark patterns vs the measurable short-term lift. [Edit] There's only so much conversation to be had around a point like "we don't want to become MySpace." If what they are doing generates more revenue, and if people don't get so annoyed that they'll use another service, and if they avoid lawsuits and regulators... You'll never hear this pitch in an executive meeting: "I have an idea that will reduce revenue X% with no quantifiable long-term benefits."
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
what_ever 9y ago
Why not use TripAdvisor? Not owned by Priceline or Expedia (yet!), nowhere as manipulative as Priceline, and you can actually compare between Priceline and Expedia offerings on the same page. The reviews are much better, rating system is not complicated/hidden and you can sort of ranking/reviews and much better UI with the new redesign. Disclosure: Ex-Tripadvisor engineer.
- tallanvor 9y ago
  TripAdvisor used to be part of Expedia. They were spun off in 2011. And, of course, TripAdvisor has their own issues that they don't really care to deal with (fake reviews are a constant problem since they have no way to verify that someone actually stayed there).
- bogomipz 9y ago
  Why? Trip Advisor is actually one of the biggest contributors to scourge the fake reviews! Anyone can't post reviews on Tripadvisor you don't need to be a verified guest. '“The effects we find in our study are actually not that small. For example, the mean hotel in our sample has thirty negative reviews. We find that a hotel that is located next to an independent hotel owned by a small owner will have six more fake negative Tripadvisor reviews compared to an isolated hotel.”'[1] Here is PDF link to the report: "Promotional Reviews: An Empirical Investigation of Online Review Manipulation", which is worth a read: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18340.pdf http://www.nber.org/papers/w18340.pdf [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2014/01/27/when-online-reviews-are-fake-researchers-identify-which-hotels-have-incentive-to-manipulate/#3c71e36d710b https://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2014/01/27/when-online...
PeachPlum 9y ago
Go direct
- easychris 9y ago
  Unfortunately directly booking with the hotel has drawbacks as well. 6 months ago I booked The Pullman Hotel in London directly (they had the same pricing as the online agencies). When I arrived late in the evening my room was not available: the (online, credit card backed) reservation I've made was "lost" and no more rooms available. There was no way to sort it out easily so I booked another Hotel (higher price, and had no time to do some Tripadvisor/Rating research). The exactly same thing happened when I booked a hotel in Czech last year via HRS. When I arrived I was told by the hotel guy that there was only 1 room available instead of the booked 2. I tried to sort it out directly with the hotel - no chance after 10 min. of discussions. I then called the HRS hotline, the service agent put me on hold while he called the hotel. I saw the guy at the reception pick up the phone, a few seconds later he came to me and told me that 2 rooms were available. :/ That said: it seems that the OTAs (HRS, booking, expedia) have enough "arguments" (e.g. threaten with delisting etc) that as a customer you may also have benefits from this kind of oligopoly.
  - kayfox 9y ago
    If you booked with booking.com and the reservation was lost your pretty much SOL as well.
    - zzmicier 9y ago
      Booking actually helps in these situations, a friend of mine works as a customer service agent there and spends a fair share of his time resolving such issues. If I get it right, in such cases Booking should suggest the new property to a guest and reimburse the price from the first hotel.
wingworks 9y ago
I've started to use Google Maps more and more, they give you a good overview of several sites and their prices.

sturgill 9y ago

I don't actually travel much, and have never used Booking.com. So no dog in this fight. But your question is pretty much my point: if people aren't going to use some other service, it's a lot harder to quantify long-term negative impacts of dark patterns vs the measurable short-term lift. [Edit] There's only so much conversation to be had around a point like "we don't want to become MySpace." If what they are doing generates more revenue, and if people don't get so annoyed that they'll use another service, and if they avoid lawsuits and regulators... You'll never hear this pitch in an executive meeting: "I have an idea that will reduce revenue X% with no quantifiable long-term benefits."

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

what_ever 9y ago

Why not use TripAdvisor? Not owned by Priceline or Expedia (yet!), nowhere as manipulative as Priceline, and you can actually compare between Priceline and Expedia offerings on the same page. The reviews are much better, rating system is not complicated/hidden and you can sort of ranking/reviews and much better UI with the new redesign. Disclosure: Ex-Tripadvisor engineer.

tallanvor 9y ago
TripAdvisor used to be part of Expedia. They were spun off in 2011. And, of course, TripAdvisor has their own issues that they don't really care to deal with (fake reviews are a constant problem since they have no way to verify that someone actually stayed there).
bogomipz 9y ago
Why? Trip Advisor is actually one of the biggest contributors to scourge the fake reviews! Anyone can't post reviews on Tripadvisor you don't need to be a verified guest. '“The effects we find in our study are actually not that small. For example, the mean hotel in our sample has thirty negative reviews. We find that a hotel that is located next to an independent hotel owned by a small owner will have six more fake negative Tripadvisor reviews compared to an isolated hotel.”'[1] Here is PDF link to the report: "Promotional Reviews: An Empirical Investigation of Online Review Manipulation", which is worth a read: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18340.pdf http://www.nber.org/papers/w18340.pdf [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2014/01/27/when-online-reviews-are-fake-researchers-identify-which-hotels-have-incentive-to-manipulate/#3c71e36d710b https://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2014/01/27/when-online...

PeachPlum 9y ago

Go direct

easychris 9y ago
Unfortunately directly booking with the hotel has drawbacks as well. 6 months ago I booked The Pullman Hotel in London directly (they had the same pricing as the online agencies). When I arrived late in the evening my room was not available: the (online, credit card backed) reservation I've made was "lost" and no more rooms available. There was no way to sort it out easily so I booked another Hotel (higher price, and had no time to do some Tripadvisor/Rating research). The exactly same thing happened when I booked a hotel in Czech last year via HRS. When I arrived I was told by the hotel guy that there was only 1 room available instead of the booked 2. I tried to sort it out directly with the hotel - no chance after 10 min. of discussions. I then called the HRS hotline, the service agent put me on hold while he called the hotel. I saw the guy at the reception pick up the phone, a few seconds later he came to me and told me that 2 rooms were available. :/ That said: it seems that the OTAs (HRS, booking, expedia) have enough "arguments" (e.g. threaten with delisting etc) that as a customer you may also have benefits from this kind of oligopoly.
- kayfox 9y ago
  If you booked with booking.com and the reservation was lost your pretty much SOL as well.
  - zzmicier 9y ago
    Booking actually helps in these situations, a friend of mine works as a customer service agent there and spends a fair share of his time resolving such issues. If I get it right, in such cases Booking should suggest the new property to a guest and reimburse the price from the first hotel.

wingworks 9y ago

I've started to use Google Maps more and more, they give you a good overview of several sites and their prices.