Booking.com gave its CFO a 20 million euro bonus after taking 100 million euros in aid

Booking.com, the Amsterdam based travel company, drew heavy criticism in the Netherlands after it emerged that its chief financial officer, David Goulden, received about 20 million euros for 2020, mostly in shares.

That same year the company had accepted pandemic support from governments, including Dutch wage subsidies.

A new kind of bonus

According to reporting by NRC, cited by Joop, Booking created a new category of reward for Goulden, a special stock award for exceptional performance.

The company argued that without it, his pay would have fallen far short of his performance because of factors beyond his control.

In total, three top executives received about 28 million euros in shares and cash, according to DutchReview.

The aid behind the anger

Booking received 65 million euros through the Dutch NOW wage support scheme, and around 100 million euros in total once aid from other countries is included.

The company had also cut thousands of jobs during the pandemic, which added to the sense that ordinary staff and taxpayers had carried the cost.

Booking said executive pay depends heavily on financial results, and that it adjusted its rules to keep talented leaders from leaving.

Political reaction

Members of the Dutch parliament from across the spectrum condemned the payouts, using words such as immoral and shameless, and some called for repayment.

Minister Wouter Koolmees acknowledged that the government had no legal power to stop the bonuses, because the first round of the NOW scheme did not ban them.

The repayment

Days later, NOS reported that Booking would pay back the 65 million euros in Dutch wage support. The company said it had heard the debate in Dutch society and took it seriously. Koolmees called the decision fair and sensible.

Why it struck a nerve

Research on fairness shows that people react strongly when gains seem private and losses seem shared. A bonus may be legal, yet still feel like a broken social contract.

The Booking case became a clear example of how quickly perceived unfairness can turn into public pressure, and how that pressure can change a company’s decision.