An Australian court fined Trivago, a unit of US-based online travel firm Expedia, A$44.7 million ($32.91 million) for misleading consumers over hotel room rates, in what would be one of the country’s largest payouts for breaching consumer law.
The Federal Court issued the fine on Friday after finding Trivago, a hotel booking website, falsely presented hotel rooms as being the cheapest available, when it was in fact promoting rooms of paid advertisers.
In January 2020, the court found that Trivago had breached Australian Consumer Law by misleading consumers by using an algorithm that pushed hotels paying “the highest cost-per-click fee” higher, and not highlighting the cheapest rates for consumers, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said.
“The loss or damage caused by Trivago’s contraventions was substantial. This arose from consumers making a booking in relation to a non-cheapest Top Position Offer when they could have booked a room at the same hotel at a cheaper price,” Federal Court Judge Nathan Moshinsky wrote in the judgment.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said that Trivago’s conduct took advantage of consumers’ desire to find the best deal, and the Court’s decision to order such a significant penalty reflects the seriousness of the company’s conduct.
“Following the initial judgement, which offered new guidance about how results of comparator websites should display recommendations in Australia, Trivago worked quickly to change its website so as to comply with the court’s decision,” the online hotel search platform told Reuters.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
DOJ and FTC Introduce Website for Reporting Anti-Competitive Healthcare Practices
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
US Congress Advances Legislation to Compel TikTok Sale
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
UK Financial Sector Advocates Enhanced Regulatory Accountability
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Google and All 50 States Defend $700 Million Consumer Settlement
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Colorado Enacts First Law to Protect Consumer Brainwave Data
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI