ACCC approval of Expedia's Wotif acquisition is 'bad news'

The AAoA, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) and Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) have all raised concerns about the impact on the Australian accommodation industry around Expedia's acquisition of Wotif.com Holdings Limited (Wotif).

AAoA CEO, Richard Munro, said: "The acquisition may trigger major commission rate increases, flowing onto consumers and the Australian tourism industry with higher rates.

"With less competition, higher commission fees and reduced hotel margins, this cannot be good news for consumers.

"The AAoA, the AHA and TAA all believe that Wotif is a well-established and high profile agency for accommodation bookings in Australia and is an important competitive player in the market, constraining international efforts to control the Australian industry.

"Rejecting the acquisition would have maintained choice for accommodation providers between multiple, foreign and Australian operators with different commission models for selling their rooms online through third-party websites," Munro concluded.