Consumer watchdog says Booking.com is still misleading users

Travel giant Booking.com has again been accused of misleading its users despite regulators bringing down the hammer, report says.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled this year that booking sites must review the way they rank and display rooms, over pressure-selling concerns.

An investigation by Which? says Booking.com is still giving false accounts of the popularity of rooms.

However, the site told the BBC it has "worked hard to implement the commitments" agreed with the CMA. Which? carried out spot checks on six leading hotel booking websites that were ordered to make changes earlier this year.

Offending sites had until September to alter their practices.

The sites had previously been found to be engaging in practices which included misleading discount claims, pressure-selling and hidden charges. According to the consumer watchdog, five out of 10 of Booking.com's "only 1 room left on our site" claims failed to give an accurate picture of availability.

The Banjo B&B in Liverpool showed "1 room left" on a "budget double room". But when Which? clicked through, it says there were four identical "budget double rooms" for the same price of £49.

The CMA, which first launched its investigation into online booking sites last October, sent warning letters to "a range of sites" in June, demanding they review their practices to make sure they are fair, and comply with consumer protection law.

Read more here

Join us November 12-15 for the Property Portal Watch Conference Madrid 2019.