HOTEL SCAM: Popular online booking websites caught for ‘hiding’ best deals from clients

THE British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has detected website irregularities carried out by six major hotel booking companies for not offering their ‘best deals’ to customers.

The discovery of the wrongful practices was carried out in the UK, where and the CMA has taken enforcement action for activities like ‘pressure selling, misleading discount claims, and hidden charges.

The companies investigated are; Trivago, ebookers, Agoda, Expedia, Booking.com and Hotels.com, which have had to change their tactics and ‘potentially break consumer protection law’.

The authority plans to eliminate sales of dishonest nature, which the president of the company, Andrew Tyrie, has qualified as ‘completely unacceptable’.

Other restrictions are reportedly being implemented on Booking, Hotels and Expedia, for changing the ‘popularity’ of certain hotels to increase sales.

Tyrie has stated that the six companies will rectify their illegal actions.

According to the website ‘Preferente’, the conditions accepted by the companies are the following:

• Explain how the hotel offerings are classified when a search is carried out by a client, and to state if these offerings are affected in anyway by third-party payments.
• To not change the popularity or availability of a hotel.
• Information surrounding discounts should not be deceitful and only promote offers that are actually available.
• Display the total price of the offer promoted.