SAN FRANCISCO
Hotel operators Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Marriott International Inc. and a group of online travel sites have been accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to fix hotel room prices, according to Reuters.
Expedia Inc. and Orbitz Worldwide Inc. are among the online retailers named in the lawsuit. Booking.com, a unit of priceline.com Inc., is also accused in the lawsuit, according to Bloomberg News.
Two consumers are seeking class-action status for the suit filed in California federal court, alleging that all parties involved broke federal and California state antitrust laws. The plaintiffs reportedly are seeking unspecified monetary damages, as well as a court order to put an end to the alleged price fixing.
The plaintiffs allege that, in order to compete with smaller online retailers, hotels and online room sellers set minimum room rates, and hotel operators ended their association with online retailers that sold rooms below certain prices, according to the report.
Courtesy of snl.com
