Growing unrest within Booking.com over holiday rentals in occupied West Bank
The Dutch holiday rental platform Booking.com offers dozens of accommodation options in illegal Israeli settlements on the occupied West Bank. Unrest about this has been growing within the company for years, Argos discovered in internal documents from the company and by speaking to several Booking.com employees and former employees.
The Israeli settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international law. Human Rights Watch already warned in 2018 that offering holiday accommodations in these settlements makes the illegal occupation financially more attractive and therefore more sustainable and contributes to more and more Israeli citizens settling in occupied territory. Airbnb removed its listings on the West Bank after that report, Booking.com did not, according to Argos.
On the work floor, unrest about this practice has been growing. In recent years, several petitions have circulated within Booking.com, calling on the company to stop offering holiday rentals in illegal settlements. The employees point out that the rentals violate international law and Booking.com’s own Human Rights Statement. “What is our human rights policy worth if it ignores the advice of the most respected human rights organizations?” asked one petition, which was removed from the intranet by Booking.com moderators.
Each petition got around 300 signatures from Booking.com employees, according to Argos. The topic is also regularly raised during meetings where employees can pose questions to CEO Glenn Fogel.
Despite this, Booking.com continues to offer holiday rentals in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. The company told Argos that it won’t dictate where people can or cannot travel and will continue to offer the accommodation as long as it is legal under Dutch, European, and American law.
Asked about the employee petitions, Booking.com told Argos that it is proud of its “open company culture” where employees are free to express their concerns. The Dutch company left many critical questions unanswered, including whether Palestinians have access to holiday bookings in illegal Israeli settlements.
