There was a time, not so long ago, when world travelers knew how to use a phone for more than just uploading selfies. You wanted a hotel, what did you do? The invisible tyranny of Booking.com
You would call MasTorrencito directly, talk to me, who would tell you what rooms were available, and even offer you a discount if you were nice. The result? A direct, human experience without bloodsucking intermediaries. But that was another era, almost mythical, because now we live under the implacable yoke of Booking.com, the absolute emperor of global accommodation.
Booking is not just a platform; it is an almighty god, hungry for commissions and blessed by collective idleness. No one searches for hotels on Google anymore. Nobody calls directly. We all, like sheep with credit card in hand, let ourselves be led into Booking’s fold, where, with one click, we buy not only the room, but also a good dose of corporate exploitation. And you know what the worst thing is? That we do it happily. As a wise contemporary once said: “The slavery that hurts the most is the one you enjoy”.
How did we get here? Well, Booking’s strategy is so masterfully unfair that it should be taught in business schools. 17% commissions, they call it. But beware, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Operating from Ireland, a tax haven disguised as a European country, Booking avoids paying taxes that the rest of us do. This little trick allows them to pocket another 10% that neither you, nor I, nor the poor hotel can deduct. So, in reality, they get more than 27% of what you pay per night. More to more, if you want to be on top you must put yourself on offer for mobile phones, another 10%, and if you want more… or to be in the first results, last minute bookings, offers at the beginning or end of the year, another 10 or 20% discount,… Yes, dear reader, more than a quarter of your money disappears in the coffers of a digital giant that doesn’t clean rooms, doesn’t change sheets and doesn’t even put a single chocolate on your pillow.
But that’s not the end of the abuse. No, that would be too simple. Booking, as a good despot, has perfected its control machinery: customer reviews. Ah, the comments… That black hole where objectivity and fairness go to die. Here’s the play: they ask you such specific questions that even the happiest customer will find something to criticize. That the water in the shower was not at the exact temperature of his dreams? Negative comment. That the neighbor snored? Also your fault. They didn’t like the color of the lawn? Nothing, a 7.
And so your score drops like a stone in water. You have an 8.8 with 20 straight tens, but all it takes is a solitary 7, like a treacherous stab, to bring you down to 8.7. Impossible. It would be easier to win the lottery or find a unicorn eating croissants for breakfast in your garden. Booking does not reward excellence; Booking rewards dependence. Because, of course, if you’re not on their platform, you don’t exist. It’s like Google’s algorithm, but crueler, because here we are talking about businesses that bleed euros with every booking.
Let’s talk now about the “resistance attempt”, that pathetic battle we are trying to fight. We, the poor mortals who own hotels, say to ourselves: “We are going to copy their system! We create our websites, we invest in fast, one-click-to-book platforms. We offer discounts, we build customer loyalty, we put pretty pictures… And what happens? No one enters. Because when you search for your hotel on Google, what comes up first? Booking. Always Booking. Even if the domain is yours, even if the client searches specifically for your name, there they are, appropriating the traffic and charging a toll for something that should be yours. It’s as if you own your house, but someone puts a guard at the door saying: “To enter, pay me first”.
And meanwhile, they continue to grow. They have the money, the data, the control of the market. They’re like the villain in a Marvel movie, but without the charisma of Thanos. The result? We small hotels struggle to survive while they swim in money and reprogram the algorithm to keep us hooked. Because if one day you decide to rebel and leave the platform, you’re faced with an existential void: no bookings. You don’t book, you don’t have customers. You have no customers, you don’t exist. It’s the most perfect vicious circle ever designed by a multinational.
And here we are. Your prisoners. Trying to compensate that 27% they take with creative strategies: selling expensive breakfasts, charging for parking, putting mini bars with airport prices… Because in the end, someone has to pay. And you know who does it? Exactly, you, the user, who continues to believe that Booking is your best friend because it lets you book fast.
The moral of this story is clear: we live in a world where he who has control of the algorithm has the power. Booking is more than an intermediary; it is a digital tyrant disguised as an enabler. And as long as we keep feeding this beast with our clicks, its tentacles will spread further and further, until no one is left outside its network.
So the next time you book a room, think twice. Maybe it’s time to dial a phone number, talk to Paco or Carmen and, for a brief moment, remember what life was like before we sold our autonomy for a quick click.
From MasTorrencito we wish you a good day and that your dogs accompany you !!!!
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