Tourism Properties.com, 02 April 2019 – The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has moved against six booking agencies to end:
- Hidden charges
- Pressure selling
- Misleading discount claims
- A lack of transparency
on how commissions affect the display of rooms online.
Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, ebookers, and trivago have all agreed to comply with the CMA’s transparency requirements over ‘sharp practices’, though not all six companies were found to have engaged in them.
The companies have agreed not to give tourist customers a false impression of a room’s value or popularity, and to provide the “full cost of a room upfront”. All compulsory charges such as taxes, booking and resort fees must be shown in the headline price.
Source: CMA chairman Andrew Tyrie
