Trivago in trouble [fined $44.7m for misleading advertising]

[drron]

Same here even on the AO coverage.But was the 7 two not the main coverage.

 

[coriander]

Same here even on the AO coverage.But was the 7 two not the main coverage.

Actually AO is on 9/90/91.

 

[drron]

Yes flicking between tennis and cricket does become an automatic process.So yes it was the second 9 channel that had the ads.But also on 7 with the cricket.

 

[p--and--t]

I'll just leave this leave there.....

Dick Smith exposes foreign booking sites for extorting millions from Australian small businesses in middle of drought 08:30mins on Vimeo

 

[CaptJCool]

Until last week, I have always got a better deal booking directly with the hotel or their rewards program than aggregators, but I always double check. For first time ever last week it was cheaper to book via Qantas hotels than it was via the rewards program or hotels.com, expedia etc - so Qantas got my booking - and I'll get QFF instead of hotel points.

I had a family member working at Hotels dot com who reckoned they provided the engine for QANTAS Hotels, and Hotels dot com is in turn owned by Expedia.

This is all true. Went to a data analytics presentation in 2014 by Expedia and they do own A lot of brands.

From a Super Bowl ad, they can determine In real time number of new app downloads etc.....

So what they are doing in price pointing customers. Who’s paying the lazy tax?

I discovered for myself on an old iPhone4 a few years ago now that Expedia provide the search engine for QF Hotels.

So that folks is like laundry detergent or toothpaste. All roads lead to the same duopoly.

These days since Wotif was sold to Expedia I book direct. I do check the aggregators in cities of which I’m unfamiliar and I’m a big fan of cheapest price for identical product.....

 

[pangwen]

So that folks is like laundry detergent or toothpaste. All roads lead to the same duopoly.

I'm imagining that the duopoly are:
- Expedia group (including Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Wotif, Trivago, Travelocity, Qantas Hotels AND Virgin/Velocity Hotels, and it appears the Flight Centre online portal too)
- Booking Holdings Inc (including Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak, Agoda, Rocketmiles)

Some OTAs out there who are (still) independent of the duopoly IIRC:
- Webjet
- Kaligo
- American Express Travel (although I understand if you call, they may do it via the GDS)

 

[p--and--t]

I'm imagining that the duopoly are:
- Expedia group (including Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Wotif, Trivago, Travelocity, Qantas Hotels AND Virgin/Velocity Hotels, and it appears the Flight Centre online portal too)
- Booking Holdings Inc (including Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak, Agoda, Rocketmiles)

Some OTAs out there who are (still) independent of the duopoly IIRC:
- Webjet
- Kaligo
- American Express Travel (although I understand if you call, they may do it via the GDS)

See post #32

 

[pangwen]

See post #32

Ta - that fills out more of the Expedia/Booking companies.

 

[ian_baker58]

The booking.com 'group' is based in Amsterdam (for billing purposes), and the 'commission' invoice comes from Amsterdam (no GST on their commission invoice to the property)
The Expedia 'group' is based in Switzerland (for billing purposes) and the "commission' invoice comes from Switzerland (no GST in their commission invoice to the property)
So - neither pay any GST in this country, and I suspect neither declare income in this country (or of they do its adjusted for 'license or franchise fees' from the overseas holding company so as to be minimal income for tax purposes in Australia)

Hmmmm.

 

[jakeseven7]

I know there has been some grumbling about trivago in the past on here so sharing this for peoples interest - they’ve been found guilty and taken to the cleaners by the ACCC.

Some dirty little business practices there.

Of course many aggregators do similar things but they have to declare it when they display the search result. Trivago did not. The strike through tactic is pretty dirty.

Buyer beware!

——

Trivago fined $45 million for misleading customers on hotel pricing claims​

Global hotel booking giant Trivago has been fined nearly $45 million for misleading customers with advertising that claimed it made it easy to find "the best price" for rooms.

The advertising conveyed that the Trivago website would quickly and easily identify the cheapest rates available for a hotel room responding to a consumer's search, but in fact the website does not do this.

Consumers were also misled by "strike-through" price comparisons.

For example, it might list the hotel room's full price as $420 — with a "strike through" to show the price has been slashed — and the final price is listed as $299. However the strike through price comparison was often a completely different room, not the one the customer was seeking to book.

Trivago was also ordered to pay the legal costs of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which brought the case against it.

Trivago cost Australian customers $30 million. It will have to pay a $45 million fine because of it

Global hotel booking giant Trivago is fined $45 million for misleading customers with advertising that claimed it made it easy to find "the best price" for rooms.

www.abc.net.au

 

[jase05]

I hardly know anyone that has ever use Trivago so I was shocked to see how big they are here

 

[jakeseven7]

I hardly know anyone that has ever use Trivago so I was shocked to see how big they are here

They sank MILLIONS into marketing in AU but yes I was also surprised with their revenue figures too.

I think they are rubbish anyway and that was before I knew about all their dodgy business practices.

 

[Quickstatus]

rubbish anyway ….dodgy business practices.

Yes why book through an aggregator. I would rather book direct with the accomodation provider direct.

I think it’s basically laziness. You see similar when people ask for information on Facebook even though a Google search provides the information.

Same with menulog. Ring the restaurant direct.

 

[eastwest101]

Yes why book through an aggregator. I would rather book direct with the accomodation provider direct.

I think it’s basically laziness. You see similar when people ask for information on Facebook even though a Google search provides the information.

Same with menulog. Ring the restaurant direct.

Yep - if you want the worst room in a hotel on any particular night, then book using an aggregator, I only use aggregators to geographically find the relevant hotels and ball park prices where I would consider booking and then use the hotel's own booking portal to book. Same price but a better room, as it cuts out the middleman (Trivago) who are only cutting yours and the hotels lunches anyway.

 

[Quickstatus]

who are only cutting yours and the hotels lunches anywa

Especially those in regional Australia.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes why book through an aggregator. I would rather book direct with the accomodation provider direct.

I think it’s basically laziness. You see similar when people ask for information on Facebook even though a Google search provides the information.

Same with menulog. Ring the restaurant direct.

A very good reason why was earlier today a friend in NY needed to book accommodation in London for tomorrow. Booking direct with the hotel they wanted a CC verification with code being sent to an Aussie mobile… which was not possible. Booking aggregator accepted the booking with no requirement. Job done.

Aggregators are also useful when buying tickets for someone else for travel. Some airlines require you to present the CC used for booking at the checkin counter. This is not a requirement when using third party sites.

 

[Quickstatus]

they wanted a CC verification with code being sent to an Aussie mobile… which was not possible

Has happened to me for other services where a code verification was sent to Aussie sim number. It was simple enough to reinsert my original sim in the mobile.

These days it is less problematic because if the dual sim capability in many phones

Additionally code verifications such as 2FA / / / similar are important security functions. Another reason not to deal with companies which don’t have that extra layer of security

 

[JohnK]

I've used Trivago recently to click through to Agoda as they had some really decent room rates that were better than ones off HotelsCombined or even the rates using Agoda discounts.

I did read the fine print for a change and they do say they recommend aggregators that offer them the most for the click.

Personally I find sites such as Trivago, Agoda misleading but they are a quick way for me to see the best prices but my only recent experience is Thailand.

It's funny as my wife/daughter stayed in a hotel in Chiang Mai and is now good friends with manager. I booked to stay 1 week there in June and the manager could not match the price offered by Agoda and told us to book via Agoda.

 

[CaptJCool]

I've used Trivago recently to click through to Agoda as they had some really decent room rates that were better than ones off HotelsCombined or even the rates using Agoda discounts.

That’s because Trivago is owned by ....... It’s “multi-brands under the one umbrella” - bit like Lever & Kitchen with laundry wash...

 

[p--and--t]

I've used Trivago recently to click through to Agoda as they had some really decent room rates that were better than ones off HotelsCombined or even the rates using Agoda discounts.

I did read the fine print for a change and they do say they recommend aggregators that offer them the most for the click.

Personally I find sites such as Trivago, Agoda misleading but they are a quick way for me to see the best prices but my only recent experience is Thailand.

It's funny as my wife/daughter stayed in a hotel in Chiang Mai and is now good friends with manager. I booked to stay 1 week there in June and the manager could not match the price offered by Agoda and told us to book via Agoda.

I was staying at a hotel in Renmark and went to the desk to extend for an extra night and the reception quoted me a higher price than what I had paid. When I queried, she said, "you are better off not booking with me, go online and search for the best price which will always be cheaper than at the desk. Then come back to see me with the new booking number and I will mark the system so you don't have to change rooms."