Booking.com revises its terms for owners and hotel chains to ease bidding

Travel giant, Booking.com, has revised its contract with hotel partners. Now owners and chains can bid openly on brand terms in Google.

Previously, hotels were restricted via their General Delivery Terms with the online travel agency on bidding on certain keywords, such as "booking.com" and other trademarked terms on Google AdWords and generic search terms.

In a recent letter sent to hoteliers, Booking.com says: "We removed the bidding restrictions from our agreement with you. This means you're free to bid on Booking.com via online search engines if you want, which aligns with a recent EU (European Union) ruling.

"The removal applies to all accommodations. There aren't any other changes to your conditions and our mutual agreement, besides additional explanations and clarifications of the GDT terms."

So, for example, alongside allowing hotels to bid freely on their partner's brand name, they can now also vie for attention using "hotels in London" and other destination-specific terms.

Whilst some may see the removal of the clause from contracts as a reason for celebration, in reality the change is unlikely to ignite a major change in the direct marketing tactics of property owners.

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