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Vezzoso, Simonetta --- "Online platforms, rate parity and the free-riding defence" [2018] ELECD 1651; in Nihoul, Paul; Van Cleynenbreugel, Pieter (eds), "The Roles of Innovation in Competition Law Analysis" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 341

Book Title: The Roles of Innovation in Competition Law Analysis

Editor(s): Nihoul, Paul; Van Cleynenbreugel, Pieter

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781788972437

Section: Chapter 14

Section Title: Online platforms, rate parity and the free-riding defence

Author(s): Vezzoso, Simonetta

Number of pages: 38

Abstract/Description:

Online platforms have come to play an increasingly important role in hotel room bookings. Online travel agents (OTAs) have imposed so-called rate parity clauses in the contracts with their hotel partners. These are contract clauses laying down the hotelier’s obligation to display the same room prices across sales channels. Within the European Union, different national competition authorities have reacted differently to the anticompetitive nature of such clauses. The main contribution of this chapter consists in highlighting those diverse approaches and in outlining some of challenges of applying traditional competition law enforcement tools to rate parity clauses.