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Check your prices!!

Could I suggest everyone checks their public facing Bdc page for correct pricing... I have just discovered that - for as yet unexplained reasons - Booking.com have apparently started discounting some of my rooms by 8% through to the end of August.

Not something I asked for or approved and it is causing me problems with parity with other OTA's.

My tariff on the Extranet is correct, the 8% discount is appearing only on the public facing pages!!  

Check in case this is happening to you... and I think I may have to add this as a new monthly exercise from now on!


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fluff 4 years ago

Ouch! Not good news if correct.

Is your price less than BDC anywhere on the internet? If yes, they are price-matching.

If no, they are learning nasty ways from their sister Agoda!

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Graham Fisher 4 years ago

More news fluff - I have just finished with the Booking.com Help Desk people (who apparently knew nothing about this!).

Booking.com have apparently launched an 8% discount promotion (funded by them) to encourage people to book and pay immediately via the Virtual Credit Card system - and this is being put on the "front page" of everyone's site...

So anyone not wanting to pay up front will be disadvantaged and effectively any price I quote to someone enquiring direct could be undercut... but apparently (nobody seems to know for sure!) only on the cheapest rooms until the end of August.

So parity with other OTA's will be compromised since they will see the price net of 8% when price matching...

Whether all countries are involved and all types of accommodation - nobody appears to know....

I thought Brexit was a big enough c**k-up until I came across this.

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fluff 4 years ago

I would love to see proof, when you have some. When Agoda do this, AND VERBALLY CLAIM IT IS AT THEIR COST, it still comes off our bill!!!

As you also said, it messes up parity like a female-dog.

I assume August is high season for you, who the hell wants a discount then?

We do not use their VCC system so, hopefully, will not qualify.

Oh, this is nothing compared to the travesty that is Brexit :-O

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Graham Fisher 4 years ago

Well fluff, I guess only time will tell... I would be concerned from your point of view however, if they are funding this 8% discount then places taking the VCC system - that are local to you - will appear that much cheaper than yourselves on the rooms that qualify.

... and of course, prices appearing to drop from a few accommodation providers can easily lead to others following suit to remain "competitive"...

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fluff 4 years ago

Exactly!

All this ever causes is price woes(wars).

The usual hypocrisy, YOU MUST KEEP PARITY they say to us BUT they break it how and when they please!

Be grateful it's only 8%, I've had Agoda lop off as much as 25% with zero notice or warning (NOT price matching but severely undercutting the other OTAs). Strangely it was Expedia's watchful eye that caught it first. We have been arguing with Agoda ever since, six months down the line and zero progress...

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Very awkward situation....
Wish you that situation straightens out...

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Graham Fisher 4 years ago

Update on this - apparently this 8% discount is international (UK and Europe certainly) and circa 18,000 accommodation providers are affected - Expedia are retaliating by price matching on all properties involved.... stand by for a price war in all countries involved as people not getting the 8% discount drop their price to compete..... just what we did not need!

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Mashi Niwarthana 4 years ago

Graham Fisher,
I totally agree with you. I have also faced to this awkward situation.