Concern about changes to IENS

The market is buzzing about new developments at review site IENS. A number of KHN entrepreneurs also received contracts with new terms from IENS.

It appears that, due to the changes, restaurants are only visible in IENS’s standard selection if there is availability. In other words: if they use the online reservation module SeatMe. The latter, naturally, incurs a commission per cover. Robèr Willemsen, Chairman of KHN: “If the rumors are correct, IENS is becoming more of a reservation site. Non-payment makes the list less visible. Given IENS’s strong market position in the Netherlands for guest reviews, this is not a good development for restaurateurs.” KHN entered into discussions with IENS for an explanation.

The changes at IENS are related to the acquisition of IENS by TripAdvisor. With this acquisition, the product range of IENS is also changing: entrepreneurs can purchase two paid packages, including the SeatMe reservation module. The standard presentation (with photo, menu, and contact details) will become free for everyone, according to IENS. The revamped IENS website will be presented at the end of August.

Market power of booking sites is a bad thing
The immense power of booking sites has long been known within the hotel industry. Robèr Willemsen: “Online travel agents also wield significant power as a distribution channel within our sector. Hence the sensitivity. A review site like IENS, in particular, holds a large market share in the Netherlands when it comes to guests' restaurant orientation. If a commercial reservation module is linked to this (such as SeatMe), an entrepreneur essentially has no choice but to participate. Otherwise, they risk losing revenue because the site indicates they are not displaying availability. But the consumer is also affected by these kinds of developments: good restaurants that do not participate are no longer visible, or are seen less frequently. Reviews thus lose their impact as well. This is a bad thing. Restaurateurs must not become dependent on the market power of delivery and reservation sites.”

Explanation IENS: In practice, not much changes.
According to IENS, in practice, not much will change regarding the way search results are displayed. According to information from IENS, the new website will allow all restaurants to add a photo, menu, and phone number to their profile, meaning this will no longer be a paid service. With this, they aim to further improve their function as a restaurant guide. Consequently, the ‘premium listing’ product will be discontinued. According to IENS, approximately 500 restaurants currently use premium listing.

According to IENS, when a consumer searches for a restaurant on iens.nl, they will still be shown all restaurants that meet the criteria (bookable and not bookable online). However, on the new website, the default sorting—restaurants that can be reserved online (regardless of availability)—will be displayed first (sorted by rating), followed by all other restaurants in the relevant category. This default sorting is precisely where KHN's concern lies. View the full explanation from IENS.

Source: KHN.nl