Controversies, cancellations of reservations, mockery of customers and CEO resignation; understand the crisis at Hurb

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João Ricardo Mendes, CEO and founder of Hurb, former Hotel Urbano, resigned this Monday (24), while the company faces difficulties. Hurb, online travel agency Press Release/Web Summit The online travel agency Hurb, formerly Hotel Urbano, is going through an unprecedented crisis. In recent weeks, some hotels and inns have suspended accommodation reservations made through the platform after delays or lack of payments by Hurb. Amidst the controversy of customer complaints on social networks, João Ricardo Mendes, CEO and founder of Hurb, resigned from his position this Monday (24). The announcement was made after the disclosure of videos of the entrepreneur threatening and exposing customer data. Below, in the report, you will understand: ➡️ What is Hurb; ➡️ The crisis facing the platform; ➡️ The videos that led the CEO to resign; ➡️ And what does the company say about cancellations. What is Hurb? Hurb, formerly Hotel Urbano, has been operating in the online travel shopping market in Brazil since 2011. According to the company’s website, Hurb is “a technology and innovation company that today is the largest online travel platform in Latin America “. Also according to the platform, the company seeks to “provide customers with a moment of leisure and a break from routine, without any stress”, and offers reservations for hotels, resorts, national and international travel packages, airline tickets and tourist tours. “We are a company made of people for people and we managed to make the travel experience simpler, more accessible and more human for our travelers. After all, it’s all about people!”, says the website. What is the crisis facing the company? In recent weeks, some hotels and inns have suspended accommodation reservations made by Hurb after delays or lack of payments from the platform. And many customers used social networks to complain about problems with reservations, flights and accommodation. Tourists report concerns about scheduled trips and complain about the company’s service. Sought by g1, Hurb said that it treats each case individually with hotels and inns, and claimed that it cannot give specific details for legal reasons (see note in full at the end of the text). The company also said it offers chat, email and phone support to resolve issues faced by travelers who have had canceled stays. Two inn owners and five travelers told g1 that they were unable to resolve their pending issues with travel through these channels. One of the businessmen ended up getting paid days after announcing on social media that he would no longer accept bookings from the site (read here). Hurb’s evaluation is classified as “bad” by the site Reclame Aqui. The company received 29,000 complaints in the last six months and is rated 5.8 out of 10. Delayed or canceled flight? Find out about the rights of passengers The 20 best airlines in the world to travel, according to consultancy What is the controversy involving the CEO? CEO of Hurb curses MS client, exposes data and threatens João Ricardo Mendes, CEO and founder of Hurb, resigned this Monday after the dissemination of videos in which he curses, threatens and exposes data of a client in a group of company employees on WhatsApp. Mendes had also published another video on his social networks in which he made fun of customer complaints (watch above). “These recent events, in fact, were the mistakes of ‘João Ricardo Mendes’ and not of an entire company that is much bigger than me”, wrote the businessman in his letter of resignation. In his letter, he says that the current General Counsel Otávio Brissant will assume the role of CEO on an interim basis. Mendes continues, from now on, as the company’s legal representative and main shareholder. Like Antônio Gomes and José Eduardo Mendes, João Ricardo Mendes started on the platform when it was launched in January 2011. What did the CEO say when he was fired? João Ricardo Mendes, founder of Hurb Divulgation/Hurb In his resignation letter, the businessman says: “It is clear that this event is a reflection of me – and the criticism I received is a strong reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow. “This is the first time that I am willing to admit that I need to separate João ‘Pessoa Física’ from João ‘Pessoa Jurídica’, as I am harming many people.” At the end of the document, he cited the rapper’s song “Till I Collapse” Eminem and says that it is necessary to find strength to “not give up”. See below the excerpt: “Cause sometimes, you just feel tired. Feel weak. And when you feel weak, you feel like you just wanna give up. But you gotta search within you. You gotta find that inner strength, and just pull that shit out of you. And get that motivation to NOT give up and NOT be a quitter. No matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse. Feels weak. And when you feel weak, you feel like giving up. But you have to look within yourself. You gotta find that inner strength and get that shit out of you. And get that motivation to NOT quit and NOT be a quitter. It doesn’t matter how much you just want to fall flat on your face and pass out.” What does the company say about canceled packages? In some cases, Hurb even confirmed which hotel would be or when customers would make the trip. According to consumers interviewed by g1 , the company claims that it is necessary to reschedule the packages beyond the three chosen dates due to “tariff unavailability”. transparency and the relationship of trust it has with its travelers and partners. Guided by the primordial value of being a company made from people to people, it always puts customers and stakeholders first”. hotelier who made some kind of complaint, regardless of its nature. For legal reasons, specific details cannot be disclosed. Apart from the aforementioned, impacted travelers, those who had their reservations canceled by partners, Hurb clarifies that the company has a customer service sector that operates 24/7, with employees ready to solve all doubts or help with any unforeseen. In the chatbot, for example, the customer who is traveling and needs some support from the company can direct himself to a specialized team through the options presented in the initiated conversation, which will prioritize the case to serve him in the best possible way. Finally, in order to have a dimension of the high volume of Hurb operations, more than 1,200,000 (one million, two hundred thousand) products and services were operated by OTA in 2022. In the same year, the company was responsible for the boarding of travelers to 272 destinations, a 20% increase compared to 2021. In 2023, the company has already operated more than 435,000 travelers to date. As mentioned above, these figures attest to Hurb’s ability to operate on a large scale, as well as demonstrate the company’s commitment to its customers, even if, globally, the tourism sector has not yet fully recovered from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. . Hurb emphasizes that it continues to value active listening and care for its audiences and, therefore, is available in case of any doubts. For this, the service can be carried out through online chat services, exclusive e-mail and scheduled phone call. All means of contact are designed for different needs and situations.”

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