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• United Kingdom: The Office of Fair Trading issues Statement of Objections against Booking.com, Expedia and Intercontinental Hotels GroupOn 31 July 2012, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) issued a Statement of Objections alleging that Booking.com B.V. (Booking.com), Expedia Inc (Expedia) and InterContinental Hotels Group plc (IHG) have infringed UK and EU competition law in relation to the online supply of room only hotel accommodation by online travel agents.

The Statement of Objections alleges that Booking.com and Expedia each entered into separate arrangements with IHG which restricted the online travel agent’s ability to discount the price of room only hotel accommodation.

The OFT considers that the alleged infringements are, by their nature, anti-competitive in that they could limit price competition between online travel agents and increase barriers to entry and expansion for online travel agents that may seek to gain market share by offering discounts to consumers.

The formal investigation was initiated in September 2010, following a complaint submitted by a small online travel agent, alleging that it was being prevented by various hotel chains from offering discounted sale prices for room only hotel accommodation.

The OFT limited the scope of its investigation to a small number of major companies, with a view to achieving a swift and effective outcome. However, the investigation is likely to have wider implications as the alleged practices are potentially widespread in the industry.

The parties now have the opportunity to make written and oral representations in response to the case set out by the OFT. Such representations will be considered by the OFT before any final decision is made.

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