Monday, August 3, 2026
Science

Booking site crackdown failed to cut online hotel prices—but unlocked cheaper deals offline

A major French policy designed to make hotel prices more competitive online may not have worked as intended, but it did unlock cheaper deals for customers booking directly with hotels. The new study of European hotel markets finds that banning "price parity clauses"—rules which stop hotels from offe...

Booking site crackdown failed to cut online hotel prices—but unlocked cheaper deals offline
Image: Phys.org
A major French policy designed to make hotel prices more competitive online may not have worked as intended, but it did unlock cheaper deals for customers booking directly with hotels. The new study of European hotel markets finds that banning "price parity clauses"—rules which stop hotels from offering lower prices outside major booking platforms—had little impact on publicly advertised online prices.

Originally published at Phys.org

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