Ronisha Andrews, Pak Seong Hoi and Lorraine Rocci have filed a class action against Expedia Group Inc., alleging that the travel company’s hotel-pricing practices broke the Sherman Act and Clayton Act. The case was filed in Washington federal court.
The plaintiffs allege that millions of US consumers paid inflated hotel rates.
The complaint centres on Expedia’s position in the online travel agency market, where it allegedly facilitates nearly 80% of US online travel agency booking value. The plaintiffs say the company used that position to impose restrictive contracts and pricing algorithms on hotels.
Those alleged restrictions covered hotels listed through Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz and CheapTickets.
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According to the lawsuit, Expedia penalised hotels that offered lower prices on other websites by moving them down its search results. Hotels that did not follow Expedia’s pricing mandates faced that demotion, the complaint says.
The plaintiffs further allege that Expedia’s algorithms required hotels to raise prices to remain profitable while preventing them from offering lower rates on their own websites.
The claimed effect extended beyond people who booked through Expedia. The lawsuit says the practices affected consumers using rival travel websites and consumers who booked directly with hotels as well.
The proposed class covers bookings dating back to October 2022. It identifies Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, Wyndham, Hyatt and Best Western among hotel chains affected by the alleged pricing mandates.
The case puts Expedia’s alleged control over hotel pricing at issue under federal antitrust law.
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