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US: Benchmarking firm STR, owned by CoStar Group, together with 10 lodge firms, face a lawsuit claiming that the “alternate of competitively delicate data” permits operators to set excessive costs.
Seven plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit towards STR and its shoppers for inflating costs inside luxurious lodge metropolitan markets in the US.
The lawsuit claims: “Rivals within the luxurious lodge trade have agreed to constantly share their detailed, audited, competitively-sensitive details about their costs, provide, and future plans by an middleman, Smith Journey Analysis (STR), which is owned by defendant CoStar Group. The aim of this alternate is for rivals to share “super-timely income and occupancy knowledge” in order that rivals can guarantee they’re getting their “fair proportion” of revenues.
“In different phrases, the alternate of this data permits taking part inns to set costs increased than they’d have been absent this settlement to alternate data. That is value fixing in its fashionable kind and is unlawful underneath the Sherman Act.”
The lawsuit highlights that STR collects three kinds of knowledge from its lodge shoppers: rooms obtainable; rooms bought; and room income. Every taking part lodge will submit further particulars together with the kind of traveller (transient, group and contract) in addition to income (room, meals and beverage, and different). STR additionally collects inns’ forward-looking occupancy knowledge, together with rooms obtainable and rooms booked.
Along with CoStar and STR, defendants named within the lawsuit embody Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Loews, Marriott and Accor. Co-conspirators embody Selection, Nice Eagle Holdings, Wyndham and Omni.
Proof within the lawsuit options the longer term itemizing costs from 6,000 inns throughout 15 cities within the US, between January and June 2024. The outcomes confirmed an “common overcharge of at the least 4.3 per cent” for five-star inns after accounting for lodge traits, location, and high quality.
It additional notes that the defendants and co-conspirators “possess a mean of 70 per cent market share throughout all 15 cities”.
Filed on 20 February 2024, the plaintiffs have demanded a trial by jury.
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