7 ms·

I think so. They don't just destroy foreign companies, sometimes they destroy their own.

gorbypark 2y ago
Looking into it further, it seems booking.com is only "sort of European". Booking.com (headquartered in Amsterdam) is actually owned by Booking Holdings (an American company), which seems to have originated as Priceline, which then bought booking.com and renamed/restructured itself into Booking Holdings and owns Priceline, kayak, booking.com, Agoda and a bunch of other airline/hotel aggregators.
- Rinzler89 2y ago
  That goes for a lot of companies operating out of NL though. They're there mostly for tax and stock issuing reason, but tend to be majority owned and managed by some US VC/PE/investment group or other kinds of foreign entities who need a EU HQ. It's what makes the NL jobs (and housing) market so hot.
  - gorbypark 2y ago
    I think in this case booking.com was founded in Amsterdam and were purchased by an American company at some point and they aren't there just for tax reasons. I guess it is possible it is the reason they stay there, though!
    - moi2388 2y ago
      No this happens a lot. The only reason is tax benefits. They do need an office with alike 10 employees and a flower in it though (to ensure there are actually people there lol), but that’s about it. So they either stay in NL, or do some sandwich with London or Dublin. It helps that the main Dutch party VVD is completely corrupt and only in there to enrich themselves.
      - sberder 2y ago
        In this case, booking.com was indeed a company founded in the Netherlands.
      - Rinzler89 2y ago
        >the main Dutch party VVD is completely corrupt and only in there to enrich themselves I dunno what your yardstick is in NL, but everywhere else I lived and have friends, every major political party is there only to enrich themselves and their lobbyists, and not to aid the people voting for them. Canada, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, you name it, same shit everywhere: privatize the winnings socialize the losses, while praising the GPD went up 0,2% while your salary staid the same and housing went up 10%.
        moi2388 2y ago
        Well in NL there is a socialist party, they all only get minimum wage and pay back everything else to the party, but they of course are too idealistic and not very pragmatic so people don’t vote for them. Most parties have some corruption, but on general try to also help the country. Just not the VVD
      - gorbypark 2y ago
        Can't speak for their corporate structure, but according to this blog post about their new campus, they have 6,500 employees in Amsterdam alone. https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-officially-opens-new-campus-in-the--heart-of-amsterdam/#:~:text=The%20new%2065%2C000%20m2,the%20company's%20official%20international%20headquarters https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-officially-opens-new-cam....
    - xescure 2y ago
      It was not founded in Amsterdam, but rather in Enschede by a student at the University of Twente.
Rinzler89 2y ago
Which foreign companies have they destroyed?
yvely 2y ago
Regulating predatory practices is not the same as destroying a company. And if it happens to be the same, then that's probably a good thing. I have my problems with many things EU, but that hotels are allowed to provide cheaper prices themselves is just good for both the hotel and the guest.
- personomas 2y ago
  No, the Regulation (in this case) is the predatory practice, which is destroying companies. There's a reason the EU doesn't have many successful companies. DMA is the problem, it's not "that hotels are allowed to provide cheaper prices themselves". DMA does not regulate (or provide) that "hotels are allowed to provide cheaper prices themselves" because hotels were always allowed to do this. Even I admit that DMA has a couple good things, but it is overwhelmed by the bad. DMA goes way, way too far and it causes destruction. EU policies are extremely overbearing, arrogant and totalitarian. This is destroying business.
  - jeltz 2y ago
    So what are the concrete problems with the DMA? I do not know it well enough but as a EU citizen and small business owner I am generally very happy with other EU regulations.
    - deeth_starr_v 2y ago
      I’m not sure you’ll get a good answer. They’ve been on HN for 9 years and have -3 karma lol
      - personomas 2y ago
        Just because my opinions aren't popular, doesn't mean I'm not capable of giving good answers. Or you're the bandwagon guy who just likes who's most popular then??
    - belorn 2y ago
      From the keypoints of the DMA, this change should require that: Booking.com can not prevent hotels from providing booking through other sites. booking.com can not prevent hotels from advertising special deals without giving booking.com a cut. booking.com must give hotels tools to independent verify advertisements that hotels are paying for. Booking.com must give hotels access to booking data in real time, and must provide export options for such data. Booking.com can not give booking.com owned hotels preference over other hotels. (not sure if there are such hotels). Booking.com can not compete with hotels using the hotels own booking data.
pjc50 2y ago
You keep going on about "destruction" without even explaining what specifically is happening here that is so bad that booking.com will be unable to continue operating?
- personomas 2y ago
  I'm talking about the fines and fines and fines that EU has been levying on business in general and the DMA is just another window into that. I'm not talking about just booking.com

Looking into it further, it seems booking.com is only "sort of European". Booking.com (headquartered in Amsterdam) is actually owned by Booking Holdings (an American company), which seems to have originated as Priceline, which then bought booking.com and renamed/restructured itself into Booking Holdings and owns Priceline, kayak, booking.com, Agoda and a bunch of other airline/hotel aggregators.

Rinzler89 2y ago
That goes for a lot of companies operating out of NL though. They're there mostly for tax and stock issuing reason, but tend to be majority owned and managed by some US VC/PE/investment group or other kinds of foreign entities who need a EU HQ. It's what makes the NL jobs (and housing) market so hot.
- gorbypark 2y ago
  I think in this case booking.com was founded in Amsterdam and were purchased by an American company at some point and they aren't there just for tax reasons. I guess it is possible it is the reason they stay there, though!
  - moi2388 2y ago
    No this happens a lot. The only reason is tax benefits. They do need an office with alike 10 employees and a flower in it though (to ensure there are actually people there lol), but that’s about it. So they either stay in NL, or do some sandwich with London or Dublin. It helps that the main Dutch party VVD is completely corrupt and only in there to enrich themselves.
    - sberder 2y ago
      In this case, booking.com was indeed a company founded in the Netherlands.
    - Rinzler89 2y ago
      >the main Dutch party VVD is completely corrupt and only in there to enrich themselves I dunno what your yardstick is in NL, but everywhere else I lived and have friends, every major political party is there only to enrich themselves and their lobbyists, and not to aid the people voting for them. Canada, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, you name it, same shit everywhere: privatize the winnings socialize the losses, while praising the GPD went up 0,2% while your salary staid the same and housing went up 10%.
      - moi2388 2y ago
        Well in NL there is a socialist party, they all only get minimum wage and pay back everything else to the party, but they of course are too idealistic and not very pragmatic so people don’t vote for them. Most parties have some corruption, but on general try to also help the country. Just not the VVD
    - gorbypark 2y ago
      Can't speak for their corporate structure, but according to this blog post about their new campus, they have 6,500 employees in Amsterdam alone. https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-officially-opens-new-campus-in-the--heart-of-amsterdam/#:~:text=The%20new%2065%2C000%20m2,the%20company's%20official%20international%20headquarters https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-officially-opens-new-cam....
  - xescure 2y ago
    It was not founded in Amsterdam, but rather in Enschede by a student at the University of Twente.

Rinzler89 2y ago

Which foreign companies have they destroyed?

yvely 2y ago

Regulating predatory practices is not the same as destroying a company. And if it happens to be the same, then that's probably a good thing. I have my problems with many things EU, but that hotels are allowed to provide cheaper prices themselves is just good for both the hotel and the guest.

personomas 2y ago
No, the Regulation (in this case) is the predatory practice, which is destroying companies. There's a reason the EU doesn't have many successful companies. DMA is the problem, it's not "that hotels are allowed to provide cheaper prices themselves". DMA does not regulate (or provide) that "hotels are allowed to provide cheaper prices themselves" because hotels were always allowed to do this. Even I admit that DMA has a couple good things, but it is overwhelmed by the bad. DMA goes way, way too far and it causes destruction. EU policies are extremely overbearing, arrogant and totalitarian. This is destroying business.
- jeltz 2y ago
  So what are the concrete problems with the DMA? I do not know it well enough but as a EU citizen and small business owner I am generally very happy with other EU regulations.
  - deeth_starr_v 2y ago
    I’m not sure you’ll get a good answer. They’ve been on HN for 9 years and have -3 karma lol
    - personomas 2y ago
      Just because my opinions aren't popular, doesn't mean I'm not capable of giving good answers. Or you're the bandwagon guy who just likes who's most popular then??
  - belorn 2y ago
    From the keypoints of the DMA, this change should require that: Booking.com can not prevent hotels from providing booking through other sites. booking.com can not prevent hotels from advertising special deals without giving booking.com a cut. booking.com must give hotels tools to independent verify advertisements that hotels are paying for. Booking.com must give hotels access to booking data in real time, and must provide export options for such data. Booking.com can not give booking.com owned hotels preference over other hotels. (not sure if there are such hotels). Booking.com can not compete with hotels using the hotels own booking data.

pjc50 2y ago

You keep going on about "destruction" without even explaining what specifically is happening here that is so bad that booking.com will be unable to continue operating?

personomas 2y ago
I'm talking about the fines and fines and fines that EU has been levying on business in general and the DMA is just another window into that. I'm not talking about just booking.com