Evaluation of best price clauses in online hotel booking

We analyze the best price clauses (BPCs) of online travel agents (OTAs) using meta-search price data of nearly 30,000 hotels in different countries. We find that BPCs influence the pricing and availability of hotel rooms across online sales channels. In particular, hotels publish their offers more often at Booking.com when it does not use the narrow BPC, and also tend to promote the direct online channel more actively. Moreover, the abolition of Booking.com's narrow BPC is associated with the direct channel of chain hotels having the strictly lowest price more often.

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Year of publication:	2017
Authors:	Hunold, Matthias ; Kesler, Reinhold ; Laitenberger, Ulrich ; Schlütter, Frank
Publisher:	Düsseldorf : Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)
Subject:	best price clauses \| hotel booking \| MFN \| OTA \| vertical restraints

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Series:	DICE Discussion Paper ; 278
Type of publication:	Book / Working Paper
Type of publication (narrower categories):	Working Paper
Language:	English
ISBN:	978-3-86304-277-6
Other identifiers:	1010336738 [GVK] hdl:10419/172539 [Handle] RePEc:zbw:dicedp:278 [RePEc]
Classification:	D40 - Market Structure and Pricing. General ; L42 - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts ; L81 - Retail and Wholesale Trade; Warehousing
Source:	EconStor

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011772950