I learned a lot about dynamic prices when, due to weather problems, I happened to be at the airport in Frankfurt one evening. All subsequent flights were rescheduled for the following day, and thousands of passengers were offered to sleep on field beds. A few of us turned to Booking and got lucky, although the city's hotels were already full due to some congress. When we arrived at the reception desk, it turned out that the price was three times higher than usual and had increased so much in the last hour. Faced with demand, the algorithm just kept building it. We were lucky, so it could have been more expensive. I can't forget the receptionist's smile, a mixture of happy disbelief and pitiful sneer, as he charged us for our accommodation.
I have memorized this lesson for all times and for every occasion when I book a hotel or flight. In recent days I have been reading with great interest about the plight of people who wished to witness the reunion of the British group Oasis. Only things went even further for the worse. Some of the fans started to book rooms in the cities where the concerts were expected (God only knows how they found out the dates) upon the announcement of a possible return. Then suddenly they were told that their reservations had been canceled due to a system error (ah, those computers are unreliable), but that they could try again at triple and quadruple the price.
It's the same with concert tickets. The initial price rose rapidly as people signed up to buy tickets. And then the whole world started talking about dynamic pricing.
The bottom line is that the application through which we buy something takes into account the demand (first of all), but also the season, weather and various other circumstances and accordingly determines how much a service will cost. At first, time was a key component, those who signed up first bought the best deals, then the price would rise due to demand. There were also reverse cases, the computer would take into account the season and the assumed interest and it happens that if the estimate was negative, the price starts to fall as the time of the service is getting closer. Because the interest is weaker than expected.
And I experienced that, to see that the hotel room, which I rented a few months too early, was offered at a significantly lower price a few days before the trip. There is also an additional explanation, the algorithm followed my behavior and concluded that I really wanted to travel in a certain period and "tailored a man's price".
But what is happening now with concert tickets shows that it is no longer important to have quick fingers or the willingness to stand in line for hours, but only the willingness to pay more for something than others. The system bids for us and there is a danger that at some point it will start regularly disqualifying those who booked tickets at a lower price in favor of those who were late but are willing to pay more. It is unclear whether the digital tapkaroshes share the money with the musicians, which would be a new level of immorality, especially if it is a band raised on the shoulders of the working class. On the other hand, what would be the band's interest in playing for "sića" if they know that the tickets went for many times higher prices? Unless the tour is already contracted for an obscene amount, so they don't ask any more, nor are they interested.
That we no longer look back in anger at the boys from Manchester, but that we see what we should do so that our life does not turn into an eternal auction with elements of fraud. Consumer associations, even in Serbia, would have to put algorithms under control, and timely booking should be sacrosanct. One should not be thrown out of the game who would use money to solve his laziness or late decision, but this can also be incorporated into the application, an offer to resell your ticket at a higher price. But by your own will, not by the will of a greedy algorithm.
Otherwise, we will end up in a situation where all prices are dynamic and driving public transport at peak times will be several times more expensive than the normal term, for example. It would abolish queues, but also destroy people for whom time is the key resource at their disposal. Let's do something in time, otherwise we don't have to look forward to the reunion of the Smiths.
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The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
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Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
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