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and other price promises to the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA), the UK advertising
regulator. 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.
The CMA says it “continues to assess the
evidence it has gathered on the practices of
other online hotel booking sites and could launch
further enforcement cases in due course”.
The Daily Mail (“Why you can’t trust those
hotel booking websites”, 4 July 2018 - left)
told its three million readers “holidaymakers
who think they are getting the best deal may
actually be paying far more than they need to
for their room”. It said “You could save a fifth
by booking direct . . Buying straight from a
hotel can be twenty per cent cheaper than
shopping around on third party sites”.
A spokesman for leading OTA Expedia said:
“We are aware of the announcement from the
CMA. Expedia Group continuously aims to
deliver the best travel options at affordable
prices in transparent, clear and easy to
understand ways, so that our customers have
all the information they need to make informed
travel choices. Expedia will continue to engage
with the CMA on these consumer matters, as
it continues its inquiries in the travel sector.”
In addition to its enforcement activity, the
CMA has sent warning letters to a range of
sites, demanding 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 concerns around
online hotel booking sites’ price guarantees
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, told
the Daily Mail: “Customers should not take
the prices on these sites for granted. Use them
as a comparison guide and then contact the
hotels directly. They would rather get a direct
sale because they avoid paying commission.
In return, they can at least match the cheapest
online prices - or give you an even cheaper rate.”
A spokesman for Booking.com says:
“We are constantly optimising the consumer
experience on our website and mobile apps
in an ongoing effort to deliver a best-in-class
experience for our customers.
“We have cooperated with the CMA during
their industry-wide investigation and we
look forward to continuing to work with
them to resolve any concerns they have.”
The CMA is inviting further evidence
on the issues being considered – go to:
https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/
online-hotel-booking