Booking Holdings Delays Charging Hotels Resort Fee Commissions in Major Reversal
Skift Take
Booking Holdings faced opposition from hotels over its new resort-fee commission policy, although the brands that dropped out of Booking.com would not have delivered a material financial hit. This major reversal coincides with a leadership change atop Booking.com and represents a victory for hotels and their controversial fees.
Booking Holdings, which had announced it would begin charging hotels in the United States commission on their resort fees, has delayed implementing the new policy, Skift exclusively learned.
The company, which owns brands including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, and Kayak, is considering delaying the new commissions until January 1, according to multiple sources. The tentative new schedule for implementation — if the company goes through with it at all — is subject to change.
It is believed that Booking Holdings could be using the pause to reevaluate the whole policy, although an internal source argued that the twist is merely a change in timing to enable relevant partners to alter internal processes.
A Booking Holdings spokesperson declined to comment on the move.
The policy reversal — or pause, at the least — coincides with a leadership change at the holding company's largest brand, Booking.com. Booking Holdings announced a week ago that Booking.com CEO Gillian Ta
