Competition watchdog threatens hotel booking sites with court action
Competition authorities have sent warning letters to a number of hotel booking sites after an investigation identified widespread concerns.
The Competition and Markets Authority says the companies risk court action unless they review their terms and practices to make sure they are fair and comply with consumer protection law.
It is also referring a number of hotel booking sites to the the Advertising Standards Authority amid concerns over the authenticity of price guarantees and other price promises.
The CMA has asked the ASA to consider whether statements like ‘best price guarantee’ or ‘lowest price’ mislead customers and what conditions must be met for companies to make such claims.
Following an investigation, launched in October, the CMA said it has identified several areas for concern, including to what extent search results are influenced by how much commission a hotel pays to a site and the practice of pressure selling.
It questioned whether claims about how many people are looking at the same room, how many rooms may be left, or how long a price is available, create a false impression of room availability or rush customers into making a booking decision.
It also identified concerns about hidden charges and whether discount claims might sometimes be based on a higher price that was only available for a brief period or not relevant to the customer’s search criteria.
CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: "Booking sites can make it so much easier to choose your holiday, but only if people are able to trust them. Holidaymakers must feel sure they’re getting the deal they expected, whether that’s securing the discount promised or receiving reliable information about availability of rooms. It’s also important that no one feels pressured by misleading statements into making a booking.
"That’s why we’re now demanding that sites think again about how they’re presenting information to their customers and make sure they’re complying with the law. Our next step is to take any necessary action – including through the courts if needed – to ensure people get a fair deal."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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