Platforms outside The Big 5 are also under fire. Like Booking.com. Because the conditions are often changed unilaterally (such as increasing the commission), it is driving some hotel providers into a corner. Where does that end? The bigger and more powerful a platform becomes, the more they sideline other players. Because as a small-scale hotelier, will you still be found if you are not on Booking? Where it once started as outsourcing sales and marketing to a platform, small players are almost forced to join the big players with deep pockets. The skewed power relations of platforms therefore seem to be increasingly being questioned.
Also read: How do you survive as a company among platform giants such as Netflix & Thuisbezorgd?
The book focuses a lot on platforms in relation to the government. How governments themselves could function as a platform, but also the struggle that governments have with platforms that come to disrupt things . There is also a sneaky edge to this: platforms used to be able to do their thing for a long time and took advantage of the fact that appropriate legislation did not yet exist for the service they offered. One loophole after another was sought and found. It is not without reason that both Uber and Airbnb were (and are) at loggerheads with local governments in countries worldwide. However, this has changed in recent years. The innocence is gone. Platforms can no longer hide behind naivety. Governments must play a greater role in gaining control over platforms. denmark telegram data According to Arets, this can be done through strict enforcement, deregulation, ad hoc regulation or a tolerance policy.
Platforms in turn face a number of challenges with the government, such as lack of knowledge and horizontal embedding, a fragmented local government and inadequate IT infrastructure. Arets advises platforms to proactively prevent issues with the government and he mentions a number of useful recommendations to think along, to work together, and especially to remain involved as a stakeholder. This provides more clarity and less risk.
Platforms in times of crisis
The ink on the book has barely dried, so there was room for a final chapter on platforms in (corona) crisis times. Platforms have regularly made the news in recent months. Initiatives such as Helpdehoreca were set up for the hospitality industry in need. On the other hand, platforms themselves also got into trouble due to a drop in income. Some platforms proved to be flexible and resilient in times of crisis. For example, freelance platform Temper shifted its focus from hospitality to transport in order to remain relevant. Other platforms unilaterally adjusted the conditions, such as Airbnb, which initially protected tenants by changing the cancellation conditions. This greatly displeased landlords, who almost immediately revolted. The conclusion is that platforms are hit just as hard as other companies in the same sector. But as long as the crisis continues, developments will follow each other at a rapid pace.
