Booking.com’s Foreign Currency Policy Sparks Outcry Among Moroccan Tourism Operators

The unilateral decision to pay commissions in foreign currency and not in dirhams is causing huge damage to Moroccan hoteliers, but also to travel agencies. "The Booking platform is acting today in Morocco in complete illegality and is causing a lot of economic losses to local players," denounces Amal Karioun, president of the National Federation of Travel Agencies of Morocco with Challenge, recalling having in the meantime denounced this decision. He deplores the inaction of the public authorities. "I had indeed alerted the supervisory administration on the Booking problem and on all the decisions that should have been taken at the time by Minister Mr. Sajid and nothing was done, not even a response. Today, the Booking problem arises with much more acuity, not simply for hoteliers because that is a commercial issue, I would say, but also because they have to pay in foreign currency, that’s something else, it’s a problem that is related, let’s say, to the exchange office, to the tax administration, etc. So have they managed to more or less reorganize the sector? In any case, the problem remains the same," assures Karioun.

According to him, hoteliers find themselves still stuck, "because it is a choice, for the hotel to work, either with Booking or with national operators." Booking poses a problem for several sectors. "Now the hoteliers will denounce the situation (they have already done so), but will continue to work with Booking as far as they are concerned. I think they are big enough to be able to solve it themselves. Booking poses a problem for other operators such as travel agencies, tourism operators in Morocco who no longer go through their clientele with the rates conceded to the platform," notes the president of the National Federation of Travel Agencies of Morocco. He hopes that the authorities will fully grasp the situation. "So, it’s a situation where Morocco, the administration, whether it’s the supervisory authority, whether it’s the tax authorities, whether it’s the exchange office, haven’t made a decision yet. Since then, we have been in expectation," he adds.

Morocco could follow the example of Turkey by taking a special provision formally prohibiting the Booking group from selling Moroccan hotel rooms to citizens in the kingdom or that of Russia whose Anti-Monopoly Agency (FAS) has fined the online accommodation booking site Booking.com a record 14.9 million euros for "abusing its dominant position" following a complaint filed by a Russian NGO specializing in the defense of the rights of SMEs in particular.