Skift Take
The online travel scene in Asia characterized by fierce competition and high stakes. Booking.com knows that it needs to sort the payment issue and make sure any lingering concerns are put to rest if it wants to stay ahead in the game in the region.
Booking.com says its problem getting payments to European and Asian hotel partners is mostly fixed and that it is even making manual payments in some cases.
“It isn’t our intention to not pay,” said Laura Houldsworth, Booking.com’s managing director and vice president for Asia Pacific. “We had planned a much-needed financial systems upgrade for the safety and security of all our partners and our customers. But we made some errors and it resulted in delayed payments.”
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel acknowledged the issue at the Skift Global Forum in New York last month: “Even one person is one too many,” he said.
There have been reports that some Japanese hoteliers are considering pursuing a class-action lawsuit