Abstract
Online platforms often impose Price Parity Clauses to prevent sellers from charging lower prices on alternative sales channels. We provide quasi-experimental evidence on the full removal of Price Parity Clauses in France in 2015 for hotels listed on Booking.com. Our analysis reveals significant price decreases in the short run, but a more limited effect in the medium run. However, hotels characterized by a more complex organizational structure decreased their prices more substantially. Overall, the intervention appears to have benefited a subset of consumers using Booking.com.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 103625 |
Journal | European Economic Review |
Volume | 131 |
Early online date | 3 Dec 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Dec 2020 |
Keywords
- Antitrust evaluation
- Hotel pricing
- Online travel agents
- Price parity clauses