French court outlaws rate parity and fines Expedia

On 21 June the Court of Appeal of Paris declared Expedia’s rate parity clause in hotel contracts to be illegal.  Expedia has been issued a €1 million fine and must stop demanding rate parity from accommodation partners.

Expedia loses hotel rate parity case in France

QUOTE:
“The appeal was brought by the French economic ministry following a commercial court ruling in 2015 on a government lawsuit alleging “undue hindrance to the commercial freedom of hotels” by the US company dating back to 2013.

Roland Heguy, chairman of the French hotel and restaurant industry union UMIH hailed the ruling as “a very good victory for 17,000 French hoteliers”.

He said the court “clearly recognised that the practices of the platform are illegal”.

However, Expedia said it would appeal, suggesting the court of appeal had “not correctly interpreted the law”.”