Greek Hotels: Expedia, Booking.com Agree to Allow Leeway for Fair Competition

The Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) announced on Tuesday, that it has decided to drop a formal investigation concerning Booking.com’s and Expedia’s cooperation agreements with hotel businesses in Greece, after the two companies agreed to revise their contracts with hotel owners, paving the way for greater flexibility in booking, invoicing and direct communication for their Greece-based partners.

The HCC reviewed the revised parity terms in the said agreements and concluded that there are currently no grounds to investigate further.

The implementation of the new terms is expected to enhance competition between online travel agencies, as well as among other marketing channels to the benefit of both accommodation enterprises and clients.

According to the contractual terms agreed on by Booking.com and Expedia, partner hotel businesses in Greece can now set ranging prices and/or offer different terms and availability against those set out by online travel agencies, propose lower prices and/or better terms to offline channels (including reservations made by telephone, at the hotel reception or as part of loyalty programs) provided that hoteliers do not publicize or advertise these rates online, and engage in promotional activities towards all prior visitors of the hotel regardless of booking method.