The popular online travel site Trivago misled Australian
consumers about hotel rates, the Federal Court of Australia has
found. In proceedings brought by the Australian consumer watchdog,
it was alleged that Trivago engaged in misleading conduct and made
false representations to consumers.
The ACCC argued that Trivago engaged in conduct which, among
other things, led consumers to believe that the Trivago website
provided an impartial, objective and transparent price comparison
which would enable the consumer to quickly and easily identify the
cheapest available offer for a particular (or the exact same) room
at a particular hotel, which was found to be untrue.
The Court found that Trivago had engaged in the conduct alleged,
and had contravened sections 18, 29 and 34 of the Australian
Consumer Law. Penalties will be decided by the Court at a later
date. The penalties for contraventions of the Australian Consumer
Law can be substantial. It will be interesting to see
