Alphabet’s (GOOG -0.88%) (GOOGL -0.77%) Google is facing calls to hold off on collecting payment for advertising from German companies struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The companies including Trivago (TRVG 0.86%), GetYourGuide, which is backed by SoftBank (SFTB.Y -2.54%), HomeToGo, and FlixBus, among others, sent Google a letter, reported Bloomberg, requesting the tech stock halt collecting payments for ads if the companies have received aid from the government amid the pandemic.
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“Unless greater flexibility is exercised by Google, many of its advertising partners will be forced to use government loans to pay their debts,” the companies said in the letter obtained by Bloomberg. “Badly needed funding will flow into Google’s coffers on the backs of taxpayers.”
The startups reportedly pay Google millions of dollars each year to show up high in Internet search results and on Google’s platforms. But with travel coming to a halt amid the pandemic, and with people sheltering in place, the industry has been hit hard. The group, operating under the German Start-up Association, had ordered more than $80 million of Google ads in the first three months of the year, reported CNBC. The letter was sent to Google’s chief business officer Philipp Schindler.
In response, the tech stock said it is providing financial support and advertising credits to help small and medium-sized businesses. “We’re committed to doing even more to help our users and our customers through this crisis, and are in continued communication with our partners, including the travel industry,” a Google spokesperson told Bloomberg in an email statement.
The call to help struggling travel companies in Germany comes on the heels of Google reporting first-quarter financial results this week in which it said it's experiencing a big decline in ad revenues because of the pandemic.
