Internet holiday site Expedia has been ordered to pay €427,000 to French hoteliers after being found guilty of a series of 'false price reductions', 'false prices for hotels' and 'false information on hotel availability'.
The world's No1 internet travel agency - which also includes travel advice site Tripadvisor.fr and hotel booking site hotels.com - was condemned by the Tribunal de Commerce de Paris for misleading customers and ordered to pay the money as damages.
It must pay €305,000 to the hoteliers federation Synhorcat and the rest to two hotels which sparked the initial complaint: €79,000 to the Hôtel de la Place du Louvre in Paris and €43,000 to the Château Guilguiffin, in Landudec, Finistère.
Expedia was investigated by the anti-fraud agency DGCCRF who found that internet bargain-hunters had been misled by the American-based sites. Buyers were given information that certain hotels were full and were directed towards other hotels with whom Expedia and Hotels.com had commercial links.
source: HospitalityTrack
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