Expedia Antitrust Lawsuit: Alleged Economy-Wide Hotel Price Fixing
A new lawsuit alleges Expedia exploits its ~80% online booking market share to inflate hotel prices 15-30% across all channels by enforcing MFN clauses and punishing non-compliant hotels via search demotion.
What we know
An account on X amplified a widely shared thread (1,779 RTs) on a new antitrust lawsuit against Expedia. The suit alleges Expedia prohibits hotels from offering better rates on their own websites or competing platforms like Booking.com or Priceline, then demotes hotels in search results that violate these MFN clauses. Expedia's commission of 15-30% per booking is allegedly baked into prices across all channels. The suit calls it an economy-wide price-fixing scheme analogous to cases reversed after the 2007 Leegin SCOTUS decision.
By the Global Eye 24 desk, with AI assistance. Updated as the story develops. Spot an error? Write to corrections@globaleye24.com.