4 ms·

It’s a de facto monopoly - break them up! They don’t care about screwing up because they dominate the market so much. They’re enjoying the benefits of the exis

It’s a de facto monopoly - break them up! They don’t care about screwing up because they dominate the market so much. They’re enjoying the benefits of the existence of little alternative to them.

ben_w 3y ago
No, not a monopoly. AirBnB is clearly a competitor in this space despite the various differences in targeted properties, and Google Maps also fills in this space. You could call them rent-seeking middlemen, but not a monopoly.
- Woeps 3y ago
  Tough in (western) Europe they seem to have an strangle hold on almost all hotels. Sure AirBnB is there as well but they're not really usable (in my opinion) regarding hotel room. And Google maps often just brings you back to an Booking.com page
  - ben_w 3y ago
    > And Google maps often just brings you back to an Booking.com page Really? Huh. I just looked at a dozen or two across Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, and while most had an option to book via booking.com (linked directly on the google search results) none had it as their only option, and they all had websites with direct booking forms of which only two were even styled slightly like booking.com But I didn't actually try to book a stay at any of them, just looked at the websites, so if they redirect after that I would have missed it.
standardUser 3y ago
I can't think of many industries with more competition than 3rd party travel sites.
- Nextgrid 3y ago
  Yet they are all equally shitty and I'm sure would get up to the same shenanigans if given the opportunity.
  - standardUser 3y ago
    That's pretty much how business works. As many shenanigans as regulation plus enforcement will allow. Classic equation.
DrNosferatu 3y ago
Proof: the reality is that just right now we’re talking about (yet another) report on how they can behave badly and get away with it. - Isn’t that market distortion?

ben_w 3y ago

No, not a monopoly. AirBnB is clearly a competitor in this space despite the various differences in targeted properties, and Google Maps also fills in this space. You could call them rent-seeking middlemen, but not a monopoly.

Woeps 3y ago
Tough in (western) Europe they seem to have an strangle hold on almost all hotels. Sure AirBnB is there as well but they're not really usable (in my opinion) regarding hotel room. And Google maps often just brings you back to an Booking.com page
- ben_w 3y ago
  > And Google maps often just brings you back to an Booking.com page Really? Huh. I just looked at a dozen or two across Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, and while most had an option to book via booking.com (linked directly on the google search results) none had it as their only option, and they all had websites with direct booking forms of which only two were even styled slightly like booking.com But I didn't actually try to book a stay at any of them, just looked at the websites, so if they redirect after that I would have missed it.

standardUser 3y ago

I can't think of many industries with more competition than 3rd party travel sites.

Nextgrid 3y ago
Yet they are all equally shitty and I'm sure would get up to the same shenanigans if given the opportunity.
- standardUser 3y ago
  That's pretty much how business works. As many shenanigans as regulation plus enforcement will allow. Classic equation.

DrNosferatu 3y ago

Proof: the reality is that just right now we’re talking about (yet another) report on how they can behave badly and get away with it. - Isn’t that market distortion?