270+ city hotels withdraw boycott of MakeMyTrip, Goibibo

Around 270 hotels of the city, who had stopped taking bookings from two major online travel portals MakeMyTrip and Goibibo alleging heavy commission and indiscriminate discounts, have withdrawn their boycott on Friday. The week long boycott, imposed by the Gujarat chapter of the Hotels and Restaurants Association (HRA) on December 1, came to an end after these portals assured they will address the issues, said Abhijeet Deshmukh, spokesperson, HRA-Gujarat.

He claimed that the travel portals have agreed to cap the commission on room bookings to a maximum of 22 per cent, which was around 40 to 45 per cent earlier. "During a meeting today, these portals assured us that the commission will be maximum 22 per cent for city-based hotels. It can be less than that, as 22 per cent is the upper limit, which will not be breached," said Deshmukh.

In addition, these two portals have agreed to HRA's demand of not offering any discounts on room tariffs without the consent of the hotels, said Deshmukh, who also owns a hotel chain. "Now, instead of offering indiscriminate discounts, these portals will have to seek the hotel's approval. No discount will be offered if the hotel is not ready. Further, the portals have also promised us some exclusive deals to boost our business," he added.

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Since December 1, around 270 hotels in the city had stopped entertaining customers who had booked their rooms through these two portals. Out of around 550 hotels in Ahmedabad which are listed on MakeMyTrip and Goibibo, 270 hotels, having room tariffs ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000, had boycotted these portals to mount pressure.