Mass releases at Booking.com! Clients request a billion euros in damages

One of the world's largest tourism manufacture giants, Booking.com, was at the heart of an unprecedented crisis. The company has announced mass layoffs, which will affect nearly a 1000 employees, and at the same time has to face a gigantic collective lawsuit. Over 200 000 customers accuse the platform of long-term price manipulation and request compensation, the value of which can scope up to a billion euros. These 2 powerful blows – interior restructuring and external consumer rebellion – can change the position of the leader of the online reservation marketplace and affect millions of travellers, including from Poland.

Global cuts and force on the market. Booking.com releases key employees

Booking.com's problems fit into a wider cost cutting trend in global technology corporations. The company, which is part of the powerful holding company Booking Holdings, announced a simplification of around 1000 jobs worldwide. It's a large blow to an organization that employs over 23,000 people. The biggest cuts are intended to affect the European office in Amsterdam, where more than half of all employees work – as many as 13 000 people.

What is peculiarly worrying for the users of the platform, the exemptions will primarily cover 2 key departments: technology and client service. The simplification of personnel in these areas can straight translate into the quality of the services provided, the stableness of the platform and the velocity of consequence to problems reported by customers. The decision on savings in these strategical sectors is made at the worst possible minute – erstwhile assurance in the brand is seriously strained by allegations of unfair practices.

Officially, the company explains the exemptions with the request to optimize and adapt to changing marketplace conditions. However, analysts point out that specified a deep restructuring, coupled with a increasing image crisis, is simply a sign of serious operational and financial difficulties. Savings can be apparent if customers' satisfaction and loyalty to the brand fall as a result.

The class action shook the giant. What is Booking.com accused of?

Parallel to interior cuts, a legal bomb fell on Booking.com. 2 powerful Dutch organizations – Consumer Association (Consumenbond) and Consumer Claims Foundation (CCC) – filed a collective lawsuit, accusing the platform of strategy and long-term misleading customers. More than 200 000 consumers have already joined the lawsuit, and their number is increasing steadily, which shows a immense scale of discontent.

The allegations are very serious and concern the fundamental mechanisms of the service. The main accusations include:

• Application of the ‘parity clause’: Booking.com was to force hotels to offer the lowest prices exclusively on its platform. This practice eliminated competition and prevented customers from uncovering cheaper offers in another channels, e.g. straight on the hotel website.
• Manipulatory marketing messages: Service users were bombarded with information to origin force and prompt immediate booking. Messages specified as “Only 1 area left!”"high demand" or "promotion ends today" frequently proved false or misleading as to the actual availability and uniqueness of the offer.
• No price transparency: According to consumer organisations, the techniques utilized led to an artificial price inflating, making customers pay more than they should in conditions of fair competition.

As CCC president Bert Heikens stressed, in his statements to Dutch media: "Such actions are a serious violation of consumer rights and principles of fair competition. Booking.com over the years artificially overestimated prices and misled customers, acting against business regulations and ethics."

Billion euros on the table. Consequences for customers and company reputation

The stakes in this game are astronomical. Consumer organisations estimation that the full value of claims may exceed up to EUR 1 billion. The suit covers the platform's activities over the last 10 years, starting in 2013, throughout Europe. This means that millions of European customers, including Poles who made reservations during this period, could be affected by the practices of the giant.

Booking.com authorities consistently reject the charges. A company spokesperson in a conversation with AFP said "The Booking.com platform has always acted in accordance with law and in a transparent manner"and its aim was to safeguard the interests of both clients and hotel partners. This line of defence will now be verified by the court in Amsterdam.

Even if the company manages to avoid a maximum financial penalty, image harm may prove irreversible. failure of trust, which is the foundation of a business based on online reservations, can prompt customers to look for alternatives. The combination of mass layoffs with accusations of cheating customers creates a toxic corporate image that seeks savings at the expense of both employees and consumers. The coming months will be crucial for the future of Booking.com and can become a breakthrough in the fight for consumer rights in the digital world.