• The President of UOKiK has obligated Booking.com to inform properly whether the lessor is an entrepreneur or not.
• Consumers must know what the e-commerce platform is responsible for and what the responsibilities of entities offering accommodation are.
• The company is to introduce changes, while the eligible users will be granted compensations.

E-commerce platforms facilitate the process of finding accommodation “on your own”. In one place, you may compare photographs and prices as well as read opinions of other consumers. It seems that it is enough to click “book now” to enjoy safe and happy stay. Is it really so? As part of the monitoring which verifies the implementation of the Omnibus Directive, the President of UOKiK questioned the performance of disclosure requirements by Booking.com B.V. company.

– For more than two years we have been verifying how e-commerce platforms had dealt with the disclosure requirements arising from the Omnibus Directive in practice. The key thing is that a user of such a platform, before taking their purchase decision, knows whether they conclude a contract with an entrepreneur or with a party other than entrepreneur. As consumers, we need clear rules and readable information, especially when we decide within few seconds, through few clicks – says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

The end of inconsistencies

The proceedings of the President of UOKiK revealed that Booking.com applied some practices violating collective consumer interests. The charges concerned the lack of clear information on whether the lessor was an entrepreneur or not. In the case of bookings at those parties who do not hold the status of an entrepreneur, the platform incorrectly informed that the scope of legal protection for the purchaser changed. Additionally, the segregation of duties among the Booking.com company and the service suppliers was unclear, which was of key significance for consumers booking accommodation who filed a complaint, for example.

As a result, consumers may have concluded contracts while being unaware that they were not entitled to the protection under the consumer law. They did not know, either, who was responsible for the performance of the accommodation service - Booking.com or an entity offering accommodation. This information was scattered, ambiguous or available only after clicking some additional links and regulations which prevented from making decisions in an informed manner.

Compensations for users

By way of a response to the charges, Booking.com undertook to rectify the violations and their consequences. The company will introduce changes which will increase the transparency of the platform for users. An important part of the obligations is to grant compensations to consumers. They will be given to the persons who made their bookings between 1 January 2023 and the date of introducing changes arising from the decision. The changes are to be introduced within one month from the entry into force of the decision.

Consumer, if during that term you made your accommodation booking at Booking.com, you may file a complaint by quoting the commitment decision issued by the President of UOKiK. Your complaint must concern one of the issues referred to in the decision. Details can be found in the operative part of the decision.

The aggrieved users may count on various forms of increase depending on the level of the platform loyalty programme held. Persons at levels one and two will get a promotion by one degree which may automatically translate into the level of the discount in facilities granting discounts as part of this programme. Users from level three will receive PLN 40 to be used at Booking.com platform. Both current and former customers will receive the information about the rules of granting compensation from the company.

Not only Booking.com

The Booking.com issue is one of numerous interventions of the President of UOKiK as part of the enforcement of the disclosure requirements in e-commerce after the implementation of the Omnibus Directive. Previous commitment decisions in the similar scope applied to Zalando and Travelist. As a result of the intervention of the President of UOKiK, a number of other entrepreneurs changed their practises or declared that they would introduce modifications. This includes the operators of such platforms as: Aliexpress, Allegro, Amazon, Bolt, Bolt Food, Empik, FREE NOW, Glovo, Morele.net, Pyszne.pl, Triverna.pl, Uber, Uber Eats, Wakacje.pl, Wolt. The common denominator of the actions taken by the President of UOKiK is the need to assure clarity as to who sells a service and what the rights of consumers are.