Major hotel booking sites agree to end pressure selling
Hotel booking sites and major hotel chains have agreed to change how they display information to avoid pressuring browsers into booking rooms following action by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
They have promised not to give a false impression of a room’s popularity and to always display the full cost of a room upfront.
In total, 25 companies, including big brands like TripAdvisor, Airbnb and Google, as well as major hotel chains, have agreed to make changes where necessary.
However, consumer champion Which? said the measures don’t go far enough. "Which? has previously raised concerns about dodgy practices on hotel booking sites such as pressure-selling, misleading discounts and hidden charges so we welcome the commitments secured by the regulator. But until the whole industry complies with these rules and makes the necessary changes, holidaymakers are still at risk of being misled by unscrupulous practices," said Which? Travel’s Naomi Leach.
"Consumers who want to avoid being caught out might find that their best option is to call their hotel directly – even if the headline price turns out to be the best available deal, an alternative discount or other incentive may be offered to secure the booking."
The CMA said most hotel booking and hotel websites had already made the changes it has requested.
Accor, IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Radisson Hotel Group, and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts requested more time as they will need to introduce specific technical updates so that UK customers are always shown the full cost of a room upfront when searching for hotels abroad.
The CMA said it will now be closely monitoring to ensure that these firms make the required changes ‘in a timely manner’.
Today’s announcement comes after the CMA took enforcement action against six other companies – Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, ebookers and trivago – for serious concerns it had around issues like pressure selling, misleading discount claims and the effect that commission has on how hotels are ordered on sites.
The CMA was concerned that some of these practices could mislead people, stop them finding the best deal and potentially break consumer protection law. All six firms formally committed to clean up their sites and have now made the agreed changes.
CMA CEO Andrea Coscelli said: "People booking hotels online can now do so with more confidence thanks to the CMA’s action. Major websites and big hotel chains have agreed to clean up their act if they’ve been using misleading sales tactics, and have signed up to sector-wide consumer law principles on how to display important information to customers.
"The CMA will now be watching to make sure that these major brands, used by millions of people in the UK every year, stay true to their word. We will take action if we find evidence that firms are breaking consumer law.
"If the CMA finds that any sites fail to make the appropriate changes or becomes concerned that people are being misled, it will not hesitate to take further action."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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