In response to Booking.com’s offer to loosen rate parity requirements for hotels, HOTREC, the umbrella association for hotels in Europe, says the offer does not go far enough and want’s to restore complete entrepreneurial freedom for hoteliers to set their pricing - including their own website.
HOTREC, the organisation representing the hotel sector in Europe, opposes to any commitment by Online Travel Agents trying to maintain parity clauses in hotel room distribution in one form or the other. Complete entrepreneurial freedom of hoteliers shall be restored allowing them to set their prices for any kind of distribution channel according to their business purposes.
The European Commission announced yesterday the launch of market tests in the antitrust investigations by the French, Swedish and Italian competition authorities in the online hotel booking sector, as Booking.com has offered commitments in order to end investigations.
