Australian hotels have become eligible to offer lower rates through phone bookings and walk-ins, Australia‘s competition watchdog ruled, according to a report by Reuters. The regulator said some online travel agents had agreed to allow Australian hoteliers to offer lower rates for direct bookings by telephone and walk-ins but not through their own websites.
The deal, following an investigation, comes after Germany’s antitrust regulator ordered Booking.com to scrap the practice of forbidding hotels to offer rooms at lower prices on their own websites, Reuters reminds.
Similar changes have been made in Italy, France, and Sweden. “They will now be able to offer lower rates through telephone bookings and walk-ins, offer special rates and deals to customer loyalty groups, in addition to offering deals via Expedia and Booking.com,” Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement, according to Reuters.