Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Hotel booking website's commitments to resolve European concerns under review, (Dec 15, 2014)

In an effort to resolve concerns of European national competition authorities that so-called "parity clauses" in its contracts with hotels may have anticompetitive effects, online travel agent Booking.com has proposed to abandon the parity requirement with respect to prices that hotels make available to other online travel agents (OTAs). The European Commission (EC) announced today the launch of market tests in antitrust investigations by the French, Swedish, and Italian competition authorities in the online hotel booking sector. The EC is coordinating the national investigations but has not opened its own investigation.

The parity clauses in the contracts between Booking.com and hotels oblige the hotel to offer Booking.com the same or better room prices than the hotel makes available on all other online and offline distribution channels, according to the announcement. The national competition authorities have expressed concern that the clauses may restrict competition between Booking.com and other OTAs and hinder new booking platforms from entering the market. Comments on the proposed commitments can be submitted to the relevant national competition authorities through January 31, 2015.

These proposed commitments follow Booking.com's agreement to resolve competition concerns of the United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading (OFT) earlier this year. In January 2014, the OFT confirmed that it had accepted formal commitments from Booking.com, as well as Expedia Inc. The U.K. investigation centered on competition concerns that Booking.com and Expedia each entered into separate agreements with InterContinental Hotels Group plc, which restricted each OTA's ability to discount the rates at which room-only hotel accommodation bookings are offered to consumers.

Companies: Booking.com B.V.

News: Antitrust