Trivago decision highlights importance of booking direct or using Australian travel businesses

Peak industry body the Accommodation Association says today’s Federal Court decision in relation to Trivago highlights the value for Australian consumers in booking accommodation directly or through Australian travel businesses.

Travel booking company Trivago, which is part of American online travel shopping company Expedia Group Inc., was today fined $44.7 million for misleading consumers about hotel rates.

Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky said Trivago’s conduct has cost Australian consumers $30 million.

Quotes attributable to Accommodation Association CEO Richard Munro
“On behalf of our members, the Accommodation Association welcomes today’s commonsense decision from the Federal Court on Trivago, however, 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.”

“The Association are continually alerting the ACCC to exploitative practices and we want the ACCC to now to cast their net wider and review price parity rules where similar large, overseas-based multinational corporations threaten Australian accommodation providers with exclusion if the accommodation provider offers a better rate online.”

“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.”