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US: Hotel advertising antitrust suit lawsuit moves forward

 |  March 24, 2019

A federal judge refused a request by hotel chains including Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, and Wyndham Hotel to throw out a class-action suit accusing them of conspiring not to compete with one another online.

The case, which was filed last year by a group of hotel customers, alleges that Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton Domestic Operating Company, and Six Continents Hotels—now called InterContinental Hotels Group—agreed not to advertise against one another on online travel agencies, like Expedia.

Similarly, the lawsuit alleges, the companies stopped advertising against one another in search results. The lawsuit says the changes came shortly after a 2014 hotel industry conference.

Full Content: Reuters

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