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2017
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2018 HOTREC ANNUAL REPORT
Achieving transparency and fairness of online
platforms for the benefits of consumers
Digitalisation radically transformed the tourismmarket by opening-it-up to
new powerful market players, making an update of existing EU consumer
legislation a must. As a result, the European Commission launched a
targeted revision of the EU consumer framework, to which HOTREC
actively participated by promoting a revised framework which adequately
protects consumers, while allowing tourism and hospitality businesses to
flourish.
Bringing transparency to the online tourism market across
Europe
The exponential development and oligopolistic online tourismmarket, e.g.
for collaborative type of activities, has resulted in a lack of transparency
about the real identity of the actual provider of a tourism service. It creates
major uncertainties for consumers, as it is unclear whether they are
protected by consumer laws or not when using those platforms. Moreover,
it leads to a distortion of competition with hospitality businesses, as some
traders often use this lack of transparency to avoid the legal obligations
applicable to tourism and food services. Moreover, while paid-for-rankings
have become a major driver on online markets, consumers must assume
that these are natural search results as no clear information is provided.
To address the issue, HOTREC has been advocating for a revised consumer
legislation which would:
•
Equally apply to all tourism services, whoever the identity of
the actual service provider;
•
Make it mandatory for platforms to indicate whether the provider of
a service is a trader or not and whether a transaction is subject to
consumer laws or not;
•
Raise transparency of rankings in online search results.
Advocating for a legislation which eliminates red-tape
and stimulates innovation
HOTREC is also promoting a revision of the EU consumer acquis which
would eliminate red-tape, while offering a favourable environment for
innovation in the sector. In order to achieve this, HOTREC advocated for
a simplification of the information requirements at the advertising stage.
HOTREC also cautioned against the extension of the consumer law
provisions on the right of withdrawal to free digital services when part of a
main tourism accommodation service.
In close liaison with the European Commission and European Parliament,
HOTREC is actively contributing tomaking the revision of the EU Consumer
law acquis a great opportunity to better protect consumers, boost their
confidence in tourism services and set-aside unnecessary regulatory
obstacles to innovation in the sector.
HOTREC is contributing to
making the revision of the EU
Consumer lawacquis a great
opportunity to better protect
consumers, and make the
digital tourism market more
transparent and therefore
more competitive.