Countless Australians turned to hotel booking platforms over the summer break to compare the best deals for their holiday destinations.
While convenient for travellers, one senior politician is concerned the sites are charging accommodation operators hefty fees for what is essentially a payment processing service.
Assistant Competition Minister Andrew Leigh also worries they’re punishing hotel operators that ask customers to book directly by pushing their listings to the bottom of search pages.
Such behaviour is an example of a tightly concentrated market, with many providers but only a few booking platforms.
“When you have monopoly or oligopoly players, there’s always a risk they’ll charge too much and abuse their monopoly position,” Leigh told AAP….