Ask HN: Booking.com terminated our account. Can anybody help?

2 points by 42droids 2 years ago | 5 comments

After 10 years, booking.com terminated our affiliate account, saying that we breached the contract.

We did not do this, but now have no way to appeal or get any sort of help. Customer services ignore all our messages.

We normally convert thousands each month, and been doing everything according to their rules all these years.

I am certain that this is caused by of some automation that incorrectly terminated our account.

I am hoping that someone who works at booking.com sees this and can help.

Any advice that can help is also welcomed. Thank you.

vcxyxa 2 years ago |

The same happened to me yesterday. Just received an email saying:

"We have discovered that you have deployed an ad to generate traffic (and bookings) to your affiliate or strategic partnership page with us, which is identical to our own Booking.com website. The landing page of your ad does not offer any additional content or benefit to the consumer. This is a breach of your obligations under your Affiliate or Partnership Agreement with us. "... Effective immediately, we hereby terminate our Affiliate or Partnership Agreement with you pursuant to the termination for convenience clause.

Replying for email leads to Contact form which after filling it you receive automated reply saying that my account has been deactivated due to inactivity. Such a bullshit and no way to contact anybody.

I have been using Booking's Affiliate program for years and put a lot of work into it. Now it's obviously lost together with hundreds of $ worth commissions not payed yet.

If you will find any way how to deal with Booking, can you let me know?

freddybomer22 2 years ago | |

I received the same email (We have discovered that you have deployed an ad to generate traffic (and bookings) to your affiliate or strategic partnership page, ...)

Did you receive an answer from booking.com already?

Is the problem solved, and did they reactivate your account?

vcxyxa 2 years ago | | |

I didn't get any reply for my 2 contact forms sent (unsurprisingly) but surprisingly got a reply to my email (my direct reply to the first email announcing my account has been terminated).

It said: "We are sorry to inform you that your affiliate agreement has been terminated. Please refer to your termination email.

Unfortunately, we cannot share any further information."

I replied to that email again twice and no reply anymore from Booking.

I also received an automated email related to my 2 contact forms I sent saying that the case was closed and asking for feedback by clicking on 1 of 5 ":-)" emojis. So ridiculous...

h2odragon 2 years ago |

Hell of a way to do customer service.

What was the value they offered you when you took up using their service, and how does that rate now? Wouldn't it have been better to have had an alternative? Assuming you get this issue fixed, are you going to be re-evaluating how reliant you are on this one service for the future?

42droids 2 years ago | |

You mean there is no customer service...

We use them as a hotel booking affiliate. What other services are there that we could possibly use? There aren't really any alternatives. The other businesses are the same.