Lastminute.com has moved to scotch rumours it is shaking up its hotel portfolio as part of a strategy to focus on properties in large cities.
Hoteliers in Spain were informed via email last week that some properties would be removed from the system although bookings for future stays would stand.
On pushing for clarification with a local Lastminute.com contractor, one hotelier, who posted his findings on Facebook, says he was told the company planned to focus on big cities going forward and drop other hotels.
Lastminute denies the strategy and says it regularly reviews its hotel offering to meet demand and improve customer experience.
An official says:
"We routinely review our offer to ensure we're listening to our customers and responding accordingly to demand.
"As such, we recently removed a small number of inactive hotel profiles in order to focus our attention on great relationships with the hotels our customers are using and enjoying."
It is unknown if the plan goes beyond Spain to the online travel agency's other major summer sun markets, such as Greece, but such a move from the online travel agency would be in line with its strategy to bring the company back to its late-booking roots which would be more akin to hotels in cities.
In September 2011, Lastminute.com announced its holidays would be provided by LowCostTravel Group on an exclusive basis with previous suppliers contacted to terminate their contracts.