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Expedia Lawsuit Alleges Price-Fixing Scheme
14 Oct
Summary
- Expedia faces a class action lawsuit over alleged antitrust violations.
- The suit claims Expedia's market share inflates hotel booking prices.
- Hotels allegedly forced to pay high commissions and offer lower rates.
A recent class action lawsuit filed in the Western District of Washington alleges that Expedia has used its dominant position in the online travel market to artificially inflate hotel prices. The suit invokes major antitrust laws, claiming Expedia's practices amount to an economy-wide price-fixing scheme.
Expedia Group owns several major online travel agencies, including Hotels.com, Vrbo, and Travelocity. According to the lawsuit, these platforms account for 80% of all US online travel agency bookings. The suit argues that Expedia charges hotels a 15% commission, leading hotels to increase prices by up to 30% to offset this cost.
Furthermore, the lawsuit accuses Expedia of stifling remaining competition by prohibiting hotels from offering better rates on their own sites or other platforms. Hotels that do not comply reportedly face demotion in search results or pressure to ensure Expedia rates are lower than those on rival sites. This alleged squeeze ultimately results in higher prices for consumers.
Expedia has not yet commented on the allegations. The lawsuit's success will depend on how these antitrust claims hold up in court.
