UK travel agents have been told they could “capitalise” on a row between Caribbean hotels and online travel giant Booking.com over the OTA’s commission policy.
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) said an “overwhelming majority” of hotels in the region are considering boycotting Booking.com over its policy to take commission on tips and service charges included in a guest’s bill.
CHTA chief executive and director general Frank Comito said the commissions could result in rising prices as hotels attempt to recoup losses, with a ‘Booking.com Fee Surcharge’ mooted.
Nadine Rankin, joint chief executive of hotel representation company AMG, said: “If it’s obvious at the point of booking that they could make a significant saving booking somewhere other than Booking.com, then it could drive consumers to travel agents.
“Hotels have the power. There are lots of distributors that hotels can work with who are not taking this stance. It’s good news for travel agents if they want to capitalise on it.”
Booking.com said it wanted to offer customers “transparent information” over the total price to create a “level playing field” for all its listed hotels.
More: Caribbean Hotels considering Booking.com boycott
