In these challenging times, the hospitality industry is facing unprecedented realities that puts businesses (and jobs) in great peril.
Alongside tourism, there are surely many other sectors that are suffering, but once the Covid-19 pandemic is over, travel will no longer be the same. The game has changed and we have to be ready to rebuild from the ground up.
In such difficult days, the last thing we need is a bully!
And trust me, when an OTA that has made over $15 BILLION in profits last year on hefty commissions taken from hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and VRs, tries to bully you is no joke.
As the coronavirus spreads throughout the Western hemisphere, countries are imposing lockdowns and consequently airlines are cancelling their flights. This obviously leaves us with a great number of travellers seeking a refund or a change of dates.
“We contacted Booking.com and got ‘well, it’s not us, it’s the property owner'”
Read More on CNN.com | https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/third-party-booking-sites-coronavirus/index.html
But who is liable for the refunds? If the customers are booking via an agent, should the agent carry the liability for deposits paid or should the accommodation take the beating? Since the hoteliers are not even given contact details to communicate with the Agents’ customers, how do we expect the hotelier to be now liable for a “guest” that technically is someone else’s customer (and not yet their guest)?
These are the questions that we need to answer, without having a bully forcing us in a corner and ready to give us a wedgie!
PS. The least you could do is pick up the phone and render service to your customers!