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Australian Hotels Win the Right to Undercut Online Travel Agents

Australia‘s competition watchdog on Friday said online booking agencies Expedia (EXPE) and Priceline Group’s (PCLN) Booking.com had agreed to allow Australian hoteliers to offer lower rates for direct bookings by telephone and walk-ins but not through their own websites. The deal, following an investigation, comes after Germany’s antitrust regulator ordered Booking.com to scrap the practice of forbidding hotels to offer rooms at lower prices on their own websites. Similar changes have been made in Italy, France and Sweden.