When booking an overnight stay on websites you often see that you need to hurry. Only two rooms left or promotional texts as the last room at this price. That must come to an end now. Booking.com and the Expedia group have clarified the information for consumers about their offerings on their websites. This means that they comply with the principles of consumer law. 

This is the result of an approach by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) together with the other European consumer regulators and the European Commission. Agreements about this had already been made with Booking.com. These now also apply to the Expedia group. Other platforms that offer travel and accommodations will also be approached about this in the near future.

This is a great result for consumers. Correct and clear information makes it easier for them to compare the offer. And it also contributes to a more level playing field between platforms in the digital economy. Thanks to the cooperation between the European regulators, we have been able to achieve this result.

Agreements were made about how search results come about and that search results are higher on the list because they have been paid for. Clarity was also demanded about the total price of accommodations including unavoidable costs

unjustified scarcity

The availability of rooms on certain dates should not be a suggestion of unjustified scarcity and offers must also be genuine offers. For example, a price may not be presented as a discount if this is not the case. The agreements with Booking.com were already made at the end of 2019 and have been implemented since then. The agreements with the Expedia group were made and implemented in 2020.

To ensure that the entire industry complies with these rules, the international consumer regulators will be making similar agreements with other online providers of travel and hotel accommodations in the near future. European consumer regulators and the European Commission work together when companies are active in different EU countries. At Booking.com, ACM was in charge, partly because their head office is located in the Netherlands. At the Expedia group, the case was jointly managed by ACM and the Hungarian consumer regulator

Also read: Teased Booking.com is not participating in the NOW 2.0 round

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