Organisation for economic cooperation and development daf. German court upholds ban on hotel sites lowprice policy. Slutkunden ingar inte ett juridiskt bindande avtal med onlineresebyran, utan ingar alltid avtalet med hotellet. Bundeskartellamt clears merger between airbus and bombardier. Online hotel bookings a joint european approach or a. Bundeskartellamt continues to view hrss best price clause critically. Price parity clauses on digital platforms, such as hotel booking platforms, have been the subject of divergent decisions under art. On 9 january 2015, the higher regional court of dusseldorf confirmed the bundeskartellamts decision prohibiting hrs from using any mfn clauses. On 20 december 20 the bundeskartellamt prohibited hrs from. Amazon dropped its price parity clause after the bundeskartellamt had opposed this practise.
Wide price parity clauses of the hotel booking platform hrs, which held a market share of over 30%, were found to be in violation of art. In the last financial year, all parties to a transaction must have generated a combined worldwide turn1 article 8, ninth amendement of the german act against restraints of competition of 1 june. Englishgerman online dictionary developed to help you share your knowledge with others. The bundeskartellamt bkarta has indicated that it wants to introduce the new rules to cover the digital sector where low company turnover may not reflect valuable assets such as customer data, and the bkartas president andreas mundt has endorsed the proposal, including in a february 2016 interview with. On 20 december 20, the bundeskartellamt bkarta prohibited the online hotel. The competitive effects of parity clauses on online. The dca found that the wide mfn clauses restricted price and fee competition among hotel portals. More information contains translations by tu chemnitz and mr honeys business dictionary germanenglish. Bundeskartellamt has acknowledged that in the digital economy, price competition is often less relevant than in other sectors of the economy as many digital services are provided for free. In december 2015, the bundeskartellamt reached a similar. Links to this dictionary or to single translations are very welcome.
Footnote 7 this decision was upheld by the dusseldorf court of appeals and is final. On 20 december 20, the bundeskartellamt bkarta prohibited the online hotel booking platform known as hrshotel reservation service robert ragge gmbh, cologne hrs from continuing to apply its socalled best price clause and ordered the company to delete it from its contracts as well as from its. The availability of free and easy to reach information can generate substantial. Diverging approaches for mostfavoredcustomer clauses. Dec 20, 20 bundeskartellamt bonn, hrs, 20 december 20 online hotel portal hrss best price clause violates competition law proceedings also initiated against other hotel portals bonn, 20 december 20. The dusseldorf higher regional court upholds the decision of. On 20 december 20, the bundeskartellamt bkarta prohibited the online hotel booking platform known as hrs hotel reservation service robert ragge gmbh, cologne hrs from continuing to apply its socalled best price clause and ordered the company to delete it from its contracts as well as from its. Kingdom, denmark, the netherlands and greece, the bundeskartellamt took a different view2. Online platforms, rate parity, and the free riding defence simonetta vezzoso trento university simonetta. In 20 the bundeskartellamt, the german federal cartel office, decided that the rate parity clauses between and german hotels are anticompetitive and must be removed from the contracts. Mfns was condemned by the bundeskartellamt the german federal cartel office.
German regulator says hrs hotel price deals may break rules bloomberg l. The paper argues that, from a policy point of view, the fcos approach of issuing prohibition orders against hrs. Its headquarters are in the former west german capital, bonn and its president is andreas mundt, who has a staff of 300 people. Questionnaire a the role of antitrust authorities regarding. In 2015 the bundeskartellamt also investigated narrow price parity clauses of the hotel booking platform and declared them to be. A key issue at stake is whether obligations on hotels to make their best prices available mfns on online travel agent ota platforms are anticompetitive. One leniency candidate in the horizontal proceedings then also came up with an application concerning rpm. In december 20, the bundeskartellamt reached a decision against hrs, a leading online travel agency ota on the german market, and prohibited its price parity clauses \best price clauses. German hotels step up boycotts against online travel agency hrs. And now, its connected to the adobe document cloud. The federal cartel office, otherwise known as the bundeskartellamt, said the dusseldorf higher regional court has shot down hrs challenge to the watchdogs december 20 decision outlawing the. Jan 09, 2015 german competition authority, the dusseldorf higher regional court upholds the decision of the bundeskartellamt prohibiting the application of the best price clause in the online hotel booking sector hrs expedia, 9 january 2015, ecompetitions january 2015, art. Online platforms, rate parity, and the free riding defence. The bundeskartellamt prohibited the parity clause used by hrs a major.
Mar 10, 2016 abstract this paper offers a critique of the december 20 prohibition order of the bundeskartellamt in the hrs hotel platform case. An investigation by the german competition authority bundeskartellamt reached a decision concerning the use of wide parity clauses by the hotel portal hrs. Yet, in its hrs infringement decision, bundeskartellamt, put account the survey diverging approaches for mfc clauses 7 offered by the investigated party and independent surveys for the industry. Bundeskartellamt continues to view hrss best price clause critically the bundeskartellamt has confirmed its competition concerns about the best price clause used by the hotel booking portal hrs. In germany, the bundeskartellamts position has been consistent, despite its divergence with other ncas decisions across the eu. Pdf analysis of prices of accommodation establishments in. Bundeskartellamt is germanys national competition regulator. Dependency of hotels strong because of overall market position and hrs strategy to offer services to firms needing hotel rooms for their business travels.
This paper offers a critique of the december 20 prohibition order of the bundeskartellamt in the hrs hotel platform case. Hrshotel reservation service robert ragge gmbh, cologne, hereafter. Commitments offered by hrs to refrain from applying the wide parity clause. It discusses the fcos market investigation, its definition of the relevant market, its theory of harm as well as its assessment of efficiencies. Bundeskartellamt in qualifies narrow mfn limited to hotels own site as unlawful too, contrary to other authorities are reverse mfns exempt within the scope of the vber. In the last financial year, all parties to a transaction must have generated a combined worldwide turn1 article 8, ninth amendement of the german act against restraints of competition of 1 june 2017 neuntes gesetz zur anderung des gesetzes. Hrs hotel reservation service case 20 the bundeskartellamt defined the market almost entirely taking account of only one side of the platform the result was that a narrow market definition of the sale of hotel rooms via online hotel portals was adopted, despite there being a wide range of. Similarly, in its decision against hotel reservation service hrs, the german federal cartel office fco found hrss use of pricing parity provisions unlawful despite hrss relatively modest market share just over 30 percent, which had been shrinking and was well below market leader at 4050 percent. Online hotel bookings a joint european approach or a most. The essence of a possible freeriding problem in this case is the danger. After examining the statements of hrs and all other relevant market participants, the bundeskartellamt has again issued a statement of objection to. Price and condition parity clauses in contracts between hotel. Competition enforcement in the internetbased trade.
Asics dealers allowed to use price comparison engines federal court of justice confirms bundeskartellamt s decision press release pdf pdf, 153kb about us. Article 101 tfeu prohibiting anticompetitive agreements. The german competition authority continues to view the. Making no distinction between wide and narrow mfn clauses. Germanys bundeskartellamt federal cartel office got the ball rolling in late 2014 when it forbad hrs, germanys leading ota to require rate parity in its contracts, a move that was upheld in the german courts in early january 2015 following an appeal by hrs. Germanys bundeskartellamt federal cartel office got the ball rolling in late 2014 when it forbad hrs, germanys leading ota to require rate parity in its contracts, a move that was upheld in the german courts in. The subsequent investigations require the analysis of numerous aspects and. Hotel reservation service robert ragge gmbh vom 20. The case showed the need for a common approach across the european union towards parity clauses. In december 20, the bundeskartellamt reached a decision against hrs, a leading online travel agency ota on the german market, and prohibited its price parity. Bundeskartellamt in hrs suggests that reverse mfns amount to hardcore restriction excluding application of vber. Its the only pdf viewer that can open and interact with all types of pdf content, including. Against this background, the federal cartel office considers the factors listed above as relevant with a view to duly taking into account the specific.
Adobe acrobat reader dc software is the free global standard for reliably viewing, printing, and commenting on pdf documents. German competition authority bundeskartellamt, decision b 9 6610 dated 20 december 20 and decision b 9 121 dated 22 december 2015. Organisation for economic cooperation and development. Alert memorandum germany adjusts antitrust law to digital. Bundeskartellamt prohibited all mfn clauses for hotel reservation service hrs, a major german ota in late 20, and for in late 2015.
These decisions have revealed significant differences between and even within single member states with regard to the dogmatic treatment of price parity clauses, the factual assessment. Today the bundeskartellamt prohibited hrs from continuing to apply its best price clause most favoured nation clause. These competencies have been granted in particular with a view to the digital economy where it only takes one illegal measure by a company to harm millions of consumers. Online booking platforms and eu competition law in the. It was first established in 1958 and comes under the authority of the federal ministry for economic affairs and energy. Price and condition parity clauses in contracts between. In comparison, in france, italy and sweden, mfn clauses were not subject to an outright ban, although in april 2015 committed to using less restrictive clauses. Bundeskartellamt launches sector inquiry into comparison websites. Yet, in its hrs infringement decision, bundeskartellamt, put account the survey. Ten competition authorities across europe have formally been investigating online hotel bookings. What are the legal instruments to deal with retail mfns on platforms under eu rules. In 20 the bundeskartellamt, the german federal cartel office, decided that the rate parity clauses between hrs. The potential efficiency impact of the mfn clauses solving a free riding problem, if there is such a problem at all, is slight at best. Media in category bundeskartellamt the following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total.
Competition issues in online retailing euchina comp. Online hotel portal hrss best price clause violates. German hotels step up boycotts against online travel. Online booking platforms and eu competition law in the wake. Germanys bundeskartellamt has pursued a prohibition approach, whereas the french, italian and swedish ncas pursued a commitments approach. The german competition authority forbids the application of a. It discusses the fcos market investigation, its definition of the.
In addition, the bundeskartellamt has been given new competencies to conduct sector inquiries if there is a suspicion that consumer protection laws have been violated. Online hotel bookings a joint european approach or a most favoured nation. Bundeskartellamt in hrs suggests that reverse mfns amount to hardcore restriction excluding application of vber but article 4 deals only with resale price imposed on distributor not supplier. This paper surveys the most recent contributions on the competitive.
Such unilateral modification would need to involve either socalled economic duress, or possibly abuse of a dominant position. Further investigations targeted selective distribution. Competition enforcement in the internetbased trade current. Agentmodellen innebar att onlineresebyraerna enbart formedlar hotellrummen till slutkunden.
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