EU Ruling On Bookings.Com

[SBurgess]

I did not use Bookings.com during my Camino, but most pilgrims I met did. And from this site it is evident that most people use Bookings at least some of the time.
This article is for those of you who use Bookings.

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-say

(Sorry, I do not know how to share the article directly to the Forum in my Android. This is from DW News).

 

[SBurgess]

Sorry again. Click on go to dw homepage, and scroll down to article.

 

[C clearly]

The summary message is that the EU has "designated Booking.com a 'gatekeeper' between businesses and consumers, meaning it must comply with strict tech rules."

That sounds reasonable. Nothing in the article changed my opinion and practice with respect to the platform.

 

[BillW]

Seems early to tell the specifics about what this will mean, but I hope the result is that the fees they charge lodgings will be lowered. That would make it more workable for the smaller places on the Camino that can't really afford to give a percentage off the top to Booking.

 

[Kathar1na]

I hope the result is that the fees they charge lodgings will be lowered.

I don’t know what that article means in practical terms and how it is relevant for consumers.

So there is now a Digital Markets Act, and Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, and Booking.com have been designated as gatekeepers under this EU law. It is about competition law. It became applicable on 2 May 2023. It aims at ensuring a higher degree of competition in European digital markets by preventing large companies from abusing their market power and by allowing new players to enter the market.

I get the impression that it does not change much if anything for people who use Booking.com during the next six months and little if anything afterwards.

If anyone wants to dive into this:

Digital Markets Act - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Not prime Camino Forum discussion material, imho.

 

[Xali1970]

Seems early to tell the specifics about what this will mean, but I hope the result is that the fees they charge lodgings will be lowered. That would make it more workable for the smaller places on the Camino that can't really afford to give a percentage off the top to Booking.

Nothing stops those establishments from having multiple rates, like most hotels.

I use booking.com to find lodgings, but will book directly: you often get better prices, or at a minimum the same price when you say you found this rate on booking.com.

When I did use booking.com, a few time the hotelier bribed me with drinks to cancel and book directly, and a few times the booking was cancelled outright by the hotelier and was then asked to pay directly...

 

[Pafayac]

IMHO, all the intermediate (between pilgrims and hospitaleros) on the Camino should be avoided when possible, because they do business with the Camino.

 

[SBurgess]

I don’t know what that article means in practical terms and how it is relevant for consumers.

So there is now a Digital Markets Act, and Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, and Booking.com have been designated as gatekeepers under this EU law. It is about competition law. It became applicable on 2 May 2023. It aims at ensuring a higher degree of competition in European digital markets by preventing large companies from abusing their market power and by allowing new players to enter the market.

I get the impression that it does not change much if anything for people who use Booking.com during the next six months and little if anything afterwards.

If anyone wants to dive into this:

Digital Markets Act - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Not prime Camino Forum discussion material, imho.

I originally posted this, not because it was of interest to me, but because I felt it might be of interest to those who use Bookings.com.
(I did not use Bookings.com).

I had no idea there was such a thing as "prime Camino Forum discussion material".

In the future, and to alleviate any suffering of the enlightened and educated class of Forum members, I'll strive to uphold the discussion material standards of the Camino Forum--whatever that is.

 

[Kathar1na]

<sigh>

I will try to be even more boring than I am already when I try to explain the practical meaning of EU law for consumers.

 

[Kathar1na]

Seems early to tell the specifics about what this will mean, but I hope the result is that the fees they charge lodgings will be lowered

I tried to read up a bit about this topic, especially as it concerns the hostelry sector in Spain. I don't see that the DMA addresses this issue. Here are two relevant articles by HostelTur. HostelTur is a platform for the Spanish tourism sector. The articles can be easily read in a browser's automatic translation mode:

Booking.com, designada 'gatekeeper' en la Unión Europea ¿Qué significa?

Booking.com, una de las agencias de viajes online más grandes del mundo, está afectada a partir de hoy por la Ley de Mercados Digitales de la Unión Europea

www.hosteltur.com

Booking.com, más cerca de ser designada "gatekeeper" por Bruselas

La Ley de Mercados Digitales aprobada en la Unión Europea busca evitar los monopolios digitales y la agencia Booking.com bajo escrutinio de Bruselas

www.hosteltur.com

 

[C clearly]

I originally posted this, not because it was of interest to me, but because I felt it might be of interest to those who use Bookings.com.

standards of the Camino Forum

We like to keep the forum threads generally on topic about the Camino. If someone is posting a link to another internet site, it is helpful if they make a comment about why it might be relevant to the Camino and pilgrims. Then, if others have trouble accessing the link, or they prefer not to go to websites they are not confident of, they still have an idea of what the article was about.

If you didn't read the article, you wouldn't realize that it was only about a technicality in classifying different internet platforms - specifically Booking and Twitter/X. Nothing about how Booking operates or is used.

 

[Hans-Georg Goebel]

I did not use Bookings.com during my Camino, but most pilgrims I met did. And from this site it is evident that most people use Bookings at least some of the time.
This article is for those of you who use Bookings.

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-say

(Sorry, I do not know how to share the article directly to the Forum in my Android. This is from DW News).

You don't have to like Booking.com or advance bookings at all.
To avoid the bed race at the age of 77, I made most of my 2024 Camino bookings 4-5 months ago via Booking. I can see the advantages:
1) I can always cancel all my bookings free of charge up to 2-3 days before the overnight stay.
2) I don't have to pay anything in advance for 80% of my bookings
3) even if I pay in advance, the cancellation option is not restricted and refunds are not a problem
4) I have a reasonable written agreement with the accommodation provider, which seems a bit safer to me than a WhatsApp or verbal agreement over the phone.

 

[Patricia43]

I did not use Bookings.com during my Camino, but most pilgrims I met did. And from this site it is evident that most people use Bookings at least some of the time.
This article is for those of you who use Bookings.

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-say

(Sorry, I do not know how to share the article directly to the Forum in my Android. This is from DW News).

I could not find this on DW, but try Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/...-strict-tech-rules-investigates-x-2024-05-13/