The European Commission served Spanish hotel group, Melia, with a 6.7-million-euro penalty (7.2 million dollars) for showing potential guests different booking options or prices depending on their location in the European Union.
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“Melia inked contracts that prevented consumers from booking hotel accommodation at better conditions offered by tour operators in other member states,’’ the EU executive said of the move on Friday.
Tour operators working with Melia, which has over 140 hotels throughout Spain according to its website, did not sell packages consistently throughout the 27 countries of the EU.
The commission acts as the bloc’s competition watchdog, stepping in where it feels consumers’ rights to shop around in the single market may have been infringed.
“This time of the year, many people are booking their summer vacation and are looking for the best deals on offer,’’ top EU competition official Margrethe Vestager said of the decision.
“Because of Melia’s arrangements with tour operators consumers had access to different offers and different prices based on their nationality.
“This is illegal under antitrust rules,’’ she added in a statement.