{"id":27134,"date":"2019-10-18T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T06:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=27134"},"modified":"2026-07-06T10:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:08:43","slug":"booking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/booking\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you use Booking? You impoverish the local economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s convenient<\/strong>, fast, immediate. Often there are offers that seem convenient to us. And that’s why everyone knows and uses it. But what is behind its operation? Is it right to use it? Booking<\/strong>, along with the other Online Travel Agencies<\/strong> (OTAs), is now a giant of tourism market and\u00a0it is the leading global operator, with approximately 28% of the market.<\/p>\n

\"Do<\/p>\n

Booking’s reservation system is based on two different models. The first is that which provides that the OTA acts as an intermediary<\/strong> between the accommodation and the client, placing the offers on its own platform. In this case, Booking asks the operator for a commission<\/strong> for every single reservation that can go between 18<\/strong> and 25%<\/strong>. Marco Michiello, president of Federalberghi Veneto, reports however that there are even higher commissions, which would allow hotels to obtain greater visibility. The second model, on the other hand, provides for Booking to purchase a certain number of nights in advance, in exchange for a payment of a share, often 75%, of the final price.
\nIn both cases, OTAs asks very high commissions to the accommodation facilities, and this commissions represent billions<\/strong> of euros<\/strong> of damage<\/strong> at European level. If it is true that hoteliers gain visibility and a pool of potential customers otherwise impossible, it is also true that operators are now virtually forced to sign these contracts, since online agencies control a huge part of the market and being out of them means substantially to be unobtainable. Moreover, until recently it was imposed the prohibition of proposing different prices from those present on Booking and if now the accommodations are free to offer lower<\/strong> prices<\/strong>, it is now the custom of customers to book directly from the sites of the OTAs, without even checking the presence of cheaper nights on the official website of the hotel.<\/p>\n

But does Booking pay taxes?<\/h2>\n

The small hoteliers are certainly the most affected by these multinationals, but they are not the only ones. Something is wrong also at the fiscal<\/strong> level<\/strong>. Booking is based in the Netherlands and it is there that it pays most of the taxes, despite being present in 227 countries with over 28 million accommodations. According to an estimate by Report, Booking collects 800 million euros in Italy, but pays 4.8 million in taxes, only 0.6 percent<\/strong>. And so the whole country (and with Italy all the others) is damaged.<\/p>\n

Tourism, Human Rights, and Conflict<\/h2>\n

\"Israel<\/p>\n

In recent years, the conversation around ethical tourism<\/strong><\/a> has expanded to include issues of human rights and international conflicts.<\/p>\n

Some booking platforms, including Booking.com, have been criticized by human rights organizations for listing accommodations located in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories<\/a>, which are considered illegal under international law. Several NGOs argue that promoting these accommodations contributes economically to the maintenance and expansion of these settlements.<\/p>\n

Beyond the specific companies involved, this issue reminds us that even a simple booking can have implications that extend far beyond travel itself. Digital platforms are not neutral tools: through their business practices and the destinations they promote, they influence the flow of tourism and economic resources.<\/p>\n

This is why ethical tourism encourages travelers to make informed, conscious choices<\/strong> and to support businesses and initiatives that promote peace, justice, inclusion, and respect for human rights.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, choosing a booking platform also means supporting a particular model of development. Every click is a choice:<\/strong> it can reinforce an increasingly concentrated economic model, or it can help build a tourism industry that supports local communities, peace, justice, and a more sustainable future.<\/p>\n

Cover image: Canva PRO<\/em><\/p>\n

Article updated in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s convenient, fast, immediate. Often there are offers that seem convenient to us. And that’s why everyone knows and uses it. But what is behind its operation? Is it right to use it? Booking, along with the other Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), is now a giant of tourism market and\u00a0it is the leading global operator, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":27135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[214],"tags":[2794,2795,2793,1693],"class_list":["post-27134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-curiosity","tag-booking","tag-internet","tag-otas","tag-tourism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo you use Booking? 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Spero ancora in un web che sia spazio di condivisione e divulgazione, e credo che l\u2019eco-sostenibilit\u00e0 sia una sfida imprescindibile del nostro tempo. Per questo, amo raccontare il viaggio come un\u2019esperienza autentica, in armonia con la natura e le culture locali.","url":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/author\/chiaramarras\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27134"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66449,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27134\/revisions\/66449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}