Thistle, Starwood and Radisson Under Suspicion of Price-Fixing
Sharon MillerReports are now showing that three of the world’s largest and most well-known hotel chains are under suspicion of price-fixing. The three hotel chains – Starwood Hotels, Thistle Hotels and Radisson Hotels, have been publicly named by many media sources as working together to sell rooms at specific rates.
So what does this mean for holidaymakers? Well in theory it means that holidaymakers could potentially have been spending hundreds of pounds more per room than what they should have been. Right now overcharging consumers for rooms is the last thing that the travel industry needs.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has already been investigating the claims. If the department can prove that the hotels were price-fixing, then all three hotels could be hit with substantial fines. So far the investigations have found that the hotel chains have been telling their travel agents not to offer discount prices to consumers. Apparently they have been asking them to sell the rooms for an agreed upon figure.
As of right now, it is believed that the complaint about this price-fixing scheme was brought to light by an online travel agent. The agent, Dorian Harris, said that he had received emails that told him to stop offering rooms at discounted prices.
A spokesperson for the OFT did confirm to the media that an investigation is underway. However, they stressed that they are at a relatively early stage in the investigation, and things might not be known for quite some time. The OFT continues to consider this matter an administrative priority. They are going to be pursuing this investigation much further.
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Filed under Hotel Chains