Booking sites may rank hotels higher if paid commission, investigation finds
Major booking sites may rank hotels higher in search results according to how much commission they receive, an investigation has revealed.
Expedia, Booking.com, Kayak and five other hotel booking sites said that accommodation might be ranked higher than similar alternatives when the booking site is paid, or paid more, when a user makes a reservation for that hotel.
The bookings companies clearly state this on their websites.
Guy Anker, deputy editor at MoneySavingExpert, which conducted the research, said: “Ranking hotels based on commission could be harmful to consumers, but you could argue that sites are at least being transparent about their practices.”
Offering advice to consumers, he added: “Don't see the fact that a hotel booking site could skew its rankings as a reason not to use one. After all, they may still offer the best price.”
The investigation follows a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe into hotel booking sites’ sales tactics, which led the companies to make commitments to change their practices.
The competition watchdog warned that bookings sites should be transparent about whether their rankings might be affected by commission – a decision which all those included in MoneySavingExpert's investigation have followed.
In the CMA’s principles for businesses offering online accommodation booking it said default rankings are “a crucial factor in determining which hotel a consumer chooses”.
MoneySavingExpert contacted all the 14 booking sites included in its investigation to ask if hotel rankings are affected by commercial factors.
All but two sites responded. For those that did not respond, the information was taken from their websites.
MoneySavingExpert compiled a table of responses from the bookings sites included in its investigation, shown below.
Anker offered consumers the the following tips for securing the best deal when using a bookings website:
Read online reviews
Compare prices between websites and booking through the hotel directly
Check the location of the hotel
Check booking flexibility, room type and extras provided (such as breakfast)
In the CMA’s guidance for booking sites it highlighted a concern towards failure to disclose the effect of payment on search results.
It said without transparency on this point consumers may make payment decisions without sufficient knowledge of the commercial relationship underlying recommendations.
"Consumers may interpret the search results presented in the default listing as being tailored entirely based on their search criteria and in their interest, without any direct reference to the interests of the hotel booking website,” it said.
The CMA has clamped down on other booking site practices, such as giving a false impression of a hotel room’s popularity or not showing the total cost of a room upfront, which the watchdog was concerned could stop consumers from finding the best deal.
In February, bookings companies that were under investigation by the CMA agreed to tell people when search results had been influenced by the amount of commission a hotel pays the site.
Bookings sites also agreed:
Not to give a false impression of the availability or popularity of a hotel
Not to rush customers into making a booking decision based on incomplete information
To make discounts clearer and only promote deals available at that time
To display all charges such as taxes, booking or resort fees in the initial price, rather than adding at the end of sale
The deadline to implement changes was September 1, 2019.
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