The Competition Commission and Booking.com have reached an agreement that will help small businesses in South Africa and benefit consumers.
Previously, Booking.com had rules that required hotels and guesthouses to offer the same or lower prices on Booking.com as they did on other websites or even their own.
This made it hard for these businesses to offer better deals directly to customers. With these rules now removed, businesses can offer lower prices on their own websites, giving them more control and flexibility.
As a result of these changes, consumers might find better deals on the accommodation provider's own website, encouraging more competition and potentially lowering prices across various booking platforms.
Booking.com has also agreed to launch a significant programme to support small and medium-sized businesses, especially those owned by historically disadvantaged people or communities. This programme will help these businesses grow by promoting them and helping them get more bookings.
This agreement is part of a larger effort by the Competition Commission to ensure that online platforms operate fairly, giving smaller businesses a better chance to compete and succeed. It's also about making sure that consumers have access to better prices and more choices when booking accommodations online.
In May 2021, the Competition Commission began looking into how Business-to-Consumer (B2C) online platforms, like online shopping sites, travel booking websites, food delivery apps, app stores, and property/automotive classified ads, were affecting competition.
They wanted to see if these platforms were making it harder for small businesses and historically disadvantaged people (HDP) to compete fairly.
After almost two years of investigating both local and international online markets, the Commission released its final report in July 2023. The report found that certain features of these platforms were indeed hurting competition.
The Commission suggested changes to make things fairer. These changes aim to give smaller South African businesses more visibility, encourage stronger competition between platforms, level the playing field for small businesses, and create a more inclusive digital economy for everyone.
IOL Travel