The Accommodation Association has reiterated its call for consumers to book directly or through Australian travel businesses for their trips and accommodations.
The call was made in light of the recent decision by the Federal Court against online travel booking company Trivago, itself a part of American online travel shopping company Expedia Group Inc., which was lauded by the group.
In its decision, the Federal Court fined Trivago a total of $44.7 million for misleading consumers about hotel rates, with Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky noting that Trivago’s conduct has cost Australian consumers $30 million.
Accommodation Association CEO Richard Munro commented, “For Australian hotels and motels the writing’s been on the wall for some time. After surviving COVID-19 and closed borders, the harsh reality is that many of our members rely on a portion of their bookings generated through these platforms, and can find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
Munro added, “The Association are continually alerting the ACCC to exploitative practices and we want the ACCC to now cast their net wider and review price parity rules where similar large, overseas-based multi-national corporations threaten Australian accommodation providers with exclusion if the accommodation provider offers a better rate online.”
He concluded, “Australian travel consumers deserve access to the best available rates, and the only way to guarantee that outcome is to book directly with Australian accommodation operators or through your local travel business.”
