The American Hotel & Lodging Association is planning a marketing and PR campaign that aims to portray online travel agents Expedia and Priceline as monopolistic, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg.
The AH&LA will reportedly step up its lobbying effort in Washington, DC, claiming that OTAs use unfair practices in their search business. It intends to lobbyÊFederal Trade CommissionÊofficials on the issue and try to ensure that new members picked by PresidentÊDonald TrumpÊare friendly to hotels, according to documentsÊprepared for a January meeting of the group’s board.
ÒThe Expedia and Priceline duopoly hurts consumer choice and the small businesses in our industry, which represent some 60 per centÊof all hotels in the US, who are struggling to compete as a result of the gouging commission ratesÓ charged by the online travel agencies, an AH&LA spokesperson said.
At the same time, Expedia said travel is a competitive industry and that the company plays a small part. A spokeswoman for Priceline said listing on the company’s sites is optional, and millions of properties do so to increase their business.
The documents obtained by Bloomberg also outline plans to re-brand the hotel industry as tech-savvy and innovative. The group wants to get more hotel executives speaking at technology conferences and is planning Òfield tripsÓ for political staff to visit hotel Òinnovation labs,Ó according to the documents.Ó
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