Booking.com apologizes for the delays in payments to partners.

Booking.com has sent an email to its partners to apologize for the payment delays that have occurred in recent weeks.

“We are deeply sorry for the impact this situation has had on your business,” Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel wrote in the email. “We realize that we have not lived up to your expectations and that we have much work to do to regain your trust.”

The payment delays were caused by a series of unexpected issues during system updates to Booking.com's accounting and payment platforms. In some cases, these issues have caused a payment interruption for some partners.

Booking.com said it will make a one-time payment to partners whose payments were further delayed by 21 days or more. The payment will be equal to 5% of the total commissions due for the periods affected by the delay.

“We understand that my personal apology does not change the impact this situation has had on your business,” Fogel wrote. “However, I wanted to acknowledge the inconvenience we have caused and apologize for what happened. It is our intention to learn from this situation to improve."

The payment delays caused a wave of protests from Booking.com partners, who accused the company of harming them financially. Some partners also announced they would stop using Booking.com.

Booking.com said it is working to improve its payment processes. The company also announced that it is increasing the staffing of its partner support team.