We wanted to provide an update regarding recent delays in payments received from Booking.com and how this has impacted owner payouts.
As some of our longer-standing owners may remember, we previously moved payment processing away from Booking.com after experiencing a six-month period where payments were not received across three properties. During that time, we manually collected and monitored guest payments ourselves. While this ensured owners were paid, it was extremely time-intensive to manage and monitor. After six months, payment processing was moved back to Booking.com.
More recently, a new issue arose. Booking.com began taking the full payment from guests and then paying out that full amount to us, before later deducting their commission and charges separately. This differed from the previous system, where payments were paid out to us already net of commission.
his change created significant reconciliation challenges and introduced financial risk, as large sums could later be withdrawn from our account to cover commissions. We raised these concerns with our Booking.com account manager and requested a return to the previous payout structure, which was safer and more manageable for both parties.
Unfortunately, shortly after these discussions, payments from Booking.com stopped coming through. As Booking.com is currently our largest supplier of guest bookings, this has had a significant impact on business cash flow and has affected our ability to pay suppliers and owners within normal timeframes.
Please be assured that we are working very closely with Booking.com and are in daily communication to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.
Our intention, once payments resume, is to process the outstanding December and January owner payments together as soon as funds are received.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and uncertainty this situation has caused. If we had anticipated that requesting a return to the previous payment structure would have had such a significant impact, we would not have made that request.
Thank you, as always, for your patience, understanding, and continued support.