HotelQuickly Disaster Raises Questions on How Travel Search Giants Vet Advertisers
Skift Take
It's a matter of probability that some companies will face cash crunches. It appears HotelQuickly has. But global travel search companies need to detect problems sooner. They must quickly put a pause on referring consumers to troubled companies before too many victims pile up.
Paul Katsen of New York was set to begin a Wednesday trip to South Africa when he received a message from HotelQuickly saying his hotel bookings were canceled. The online travel agency gave him a voucher for a future HotelQuickly purchase. When Katsen contacted the hotel, it said an agency had canceled his reservation on December 5.
Katsen wasn't alone. Social media and consumer forums lit up in recent days with hundreds of complaints as HotelQuickly left hundreds of travelers stranded
Rakeesha Chetty of South Africa was a week away from her trip to Zambia with friends and family when she received a notice from HotelQuickly that her booking had been canceled. Again, she received a voucher for future travel. But she questioned the value of the voucher.
As of Saturday and Sunday, Skift's random test searches on HotelQuickly were not turning up any availability for properties in various cities, suggesting the site had suspended operations.
Company officials failed to answer reporters late last week at The Straits Times in Singapore, where HotelQuickly's parent company is registered.
Update: The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong says that HotelQuickly'
