We all hated the urgency messaging internally

Am I the only one that sees such urgency messages and then thinks: Well ok, then not? I'm orienting, looking at options, I'm just annoyed if my final list contains options that are gone by the time I feel ready to make a choice. The whole thing just makes me annoyed and look for other options. I had the same with a guy that wanted to sell us a mortgage, he said: "Better decide now, interest rates are probably going up next week." one day later he calls again: "You need to decide soon." So I tell him, "Ok, thank you we will not be going with your service then, I prefer to take time and I don't like this pressure." The guy was almost speechless. So I guess he expects people to be persuaded. Another example: The parents of a friend had their whole kitchen drawn and an offer on the table. So they want to take it home to think it over. The seller tells them: "What? No! I have to ask my manage…

I hope the feedback I provided on the CSAT form (worst possible score, more or less stating that I will actively switch to any competitor that doesn't totally suck as soon as I find one, specifically because of the urgency crap) helped support the position of the people opposing this crap.

I worked for a sister company. These features were A/B tested, their effect on bookings measured, and the numbers affected the bonuses of POs. They were thus incentivized to try these kinds of annoying tricks, because ultimately they work, or at least they do when their effect is observed only in terms of bookings. I asked several times if we somehow measured customer retention, as we kept adding stuff I thought would have a negative effect in the long term (a customer would go through the whole booking process, only to never return because the experience was too bad.) We didn't. I guess it's difficult, I have no idea how this kind of metric would be computed. The checkbox is a nice idea, it could help retain customers on the verge of leaving. It wouldn't work for customers who visit once and get so annoyed they never come back. Also: a good portion of the traffic was affiliate traffic, …

Thanks for sharing! That is what I suspected. I also suspect that while this does increase revenue in the short term, it might backfire in the future. I hate this messaging so much, that I now dislike booking.com overall and I actively look for other options (such as booking directly with hotels). Searching for a place to stay on Booking is no longer fun: it is an anxiety-inducing chore that I hate and try to avoid. And that's from a Genius level 2 customer. I guess this works for now, but as soon as a viable competitor appears…