Australian consumer watchdog censures Airbnb, eDreams for ‘drip pricing’
Wednesday, 14 Oct, 2015
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Online accommodation platform Airbnb has fallen foul of the Australian consumer law watchdog for a misleading pricing policy.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said Airbnb dealt in ‘drip pricing’ by failing to sufficiently disclose added fees such as a cleaning charge prior to booking.
A similar charge was also levelled at European online travel agency eDreams.
"Drip feeding consumers with information about charges can cause detriment to competition and result in consumers paying a higher price than the advertised price or spending more than they realise," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.
"The law does not prevent traders from charging fees. However, it does require that fees are disclosed clearly to avoid consumers being misled."
Airbnb had failed to adequately disclose the full amount prior to booking since November 2012.
The ACCC said both companies had cooperated the investigations and accepted their pricing policies were in violation of Australian consumer law.
"We’ve taken note of the ACCC’s concerns, and we’ll be working to make sure our platform addresses those concerns," an Airbnb spokesman said.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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