Booking.com agrees to change way it presents travel offers: EU

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday that travel site Booking.com had committed to end “manipulative techniques” for offers, such as wrongly presenting them as time-limited, and misrepresenting discounts.

 

 

The EU executive and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets have been in talks with Booking.com for the past year and accepted commitments the company made to bring its practices in line with EU consumer law.

 

“As a market leader, it is vital that companies like Booking.com meet their responsibilities in this area,” Didier Reynders, EU commissioner for justice and consumers, said in a statement.

No one at Booking.com was immediately available for comment.

 

Booking.com had committed to make a series of changes by June 16, the Commission said.

 

These include making clear that the statement “last room available!” only referred to offers by Booking.com and not presenting offers as time-limited if the same price applied after the time limit expired.

 

The company should also ensure offers presented as discounts represented genuine savings, display the total price in a clear way and clearly indicate if accommodation was offered by a private host or a professional.

 

Reynders said the Commission and national consumer authorities would continue to monitor all online travel sites to ensure fair treatment for consumers.

 

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