Expedia Group will not follow Booking.com's lead in charging
a commission on hotels' mandatory consumer fees.
In an emailed statement, an Expedia Group spokesperson said,
"Expedia Group has no plans to change its approach to mandatory hotel
fees. We remain focused on delivering value to our hotel partners and expanding
our relationships."
The spokesperson went on to add, however, that the company
did have "concerns about whether those fees are in the best interest of
travelers" and that Expedia Group is open to changing how hotels with fees
appear in search results.
"Our goal is to ensure that among otherwise equal
hotels, those not charging mandatory fees have higher visibility to travelers
on our sites, thereby empowering travelers to compare their travel options
easily and intuitively," said Expedia Group.
Booking.com said it would begin taking a cut of hotel fees with
its customers in mind.
"The best customer experience is when people know the
entire cost up front," Booking Holdings senior vice president and head of
global communications Leslie Cafferty told Travel Weekly in June. "Hopefully,
this will help continue to push the entire industry toward more transparency."