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2017
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2018 HOTREC ANNUAL REPORT
HOTREC is leading the fight to secure a fair online platform market environment for businesses and consumers
through regular policy activities. Indeed, as a result of HOTREC’s active contribution to the European Commission’s
fact finding exercise in mapping and identifying unfair practices in platform to business relations, the European
Commission unveiled on April 26 a proposal for a regulation, on promoting fairness and transparency for business
users of online intermediation services and online search engines in the Digital Single Market.
Bringing more balance in platform to business relations through a new Regulation
Currently, the majority of hoteliers across Europe consider that they would not accept voluntarily the terms
and conditions, as proposed by 1-2 platforms that dominate the online intermediary hotel booking market.
Furthermore, a huge share of hoteliers considers, that platforms do not offer fair and effective procedures, when
it comes to settling disputes.
Following the groundwork HOTREC has invested over the past months, the European Commission made on 26
April 2018 a legislative proposal that allows for more balanced markets. Improvements regarding transparency
of terms and conditions, of rankings’ criteria, as well as settlement of disputes are all aspects, where HOTREC
expects improvements. There is a great chance for settling current market imbalances and to stop the situation
where European businesses are at the mercy of big platforms.
More fairness and transparency for business users of online platforms shall also release business resources for
innovation, further improvement and development of the own products and services, instead of tackling unfair
practices, thus increasing the EU’s and European hospitality businesses’ competitiveness. HOTREC is making its
utmost to ensure that this Commission proposal is adopted as soon as possible, in order to let the new binding
rules deploy their positive effects for businesses.
Making European tourism parity clause free
Another sign for tourism and especially hotel businesses regaining some of their entrepreneurial freedom is the
development around parity clauses. In August 2017, Italy decided to ban parity clauses from contracts between
hotels and Online Travel Agencies, while the previously adopted ban in Austria was reinforced by a decision from
the country’s constitutional court. Thus, by today, basically half of the European tourism market (in terms of
overnight stays) benefits already from the freedom of setting its own conditions for potential guests with bans
effective in Germany, France, Austria and Italy. Further countries are already in the line.
Actions developed by HOTREC and its Member Associations clearly help hospitality businesses restoring their
entrepreneurial freedom and diminish platform’s powers to dictate market access conditions.
Platforms’ unfair business practices getting
finally under heavy pressure
More fairness and transparency inplatform
operations will also release resources
for investments in making the European
tourism market even more competitive.