Hotel chains Hilton (HLT), Marriott (MAR), Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and commercial property data analytics firm CoStar (CSGP) are under investigation by the UK competition watchdog over suspected sharing of sensitive information.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking into whether the global hotel firms shared information through the use of CoStar’s data analytics tool STR and so-called algorithms to help them make commercial decisions.
CoStar is under investigation as it owns the data tool through which competitively sensitive information can be shared.
The CMA said that when rivals share competitively sensitive information through a data provider it can allow them to predict what each other will do and to co-ordinate they behaviour and pricing.
The CMA said: “At this stage, no assumptions should be made about whether the law has been broken.
“Following a period of investigation and information gathering, the CMA may issue a statement of objections if it comes to the provisional view that competition law has been infringed.”
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which is listed on London’s FTSE 100 Index, saw its shares fall 5% on Monday morning, although this also came amid wider declines on the stock market due to the intensifying conflict in the Middle East.
An IHG spokesperson said the group would “co-operate fully with the CMA’s inquiries” but declined to comment further.
A CoStar spokesperson said the firm was “happy to provide the CMA with assistance”.
The firm added: “We are surprised at the CMA’s interest in a long-standing hotel data analytics and benchmarking platform, that for decades has been used by companies and government entities alike to better assess market dynamics.”
