Competition watchdog probes top hotel chains over data sharing
The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a probe into top hotel chains including Hilton, Marriott and FTSE 100 giant IHG over their suspected use of a data analytics tool to share information with each other.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the investigation on Monday morning, which centres around the hotel chains’ use of STR, a hotel data analytics tool.
The CMA said hotel chains usually use analytics tools to make decisions on pricing but the sharing of this data among rival businesses can enable them to coordinate their behaviour.
Costar, the real estate information company which built the STR tool, is also being investigated by the CMA.
The CMA said: “[Analytics tools] can bring benefits including more intense competition, lower costs, and faster changes in prices to better match demand and supply in markets.
“However, when rival businesses share competitively sensitive information – including through a third-party data analytics provider – this reduces the uncertainty competing businesses normally have about how each other will act.
“This can affect how strongly companies compete because it makes it easier for them to predict what each other will do and coordinate their behaviour.”
Shares in Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns budget chain Holiday Inn as well as a number of luxury brands, took a five per cent dip on Monday morning to 132 cents.
Marriott International 37 hotel and timeshare brands, including Marriott Bonvoy, and operates around 9,000 locations and more than 1.5m rooms.
Last week, former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi joined an equity group investing more than £1bn into the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square and another Mayfair location.
Hilton Hotels, founded by American businessman Conrad Hilton in 1919, operated more than 7,500 locations as of 2024.
Data tool operator ‘surprised’ by probe
A Costar spokesperson told CityAM it was “surprised” by the probe but is cooperating with the watchdog.
They said: “We are surprised at the CMA’s interest in a long-standing hotel data analytics and benchmarking platform, that for decades has been used by companies and government entities alike to better assess market dynamics.
“Meanwhile we remain focused on delivering best-in-class, pro-competitive products and services to our customers in the UK and beyond.”
IHG told CityAM it is aware of the investigation and said it will cooperate fully with the CMA.
The CMA said no assumptions should be made about whether the law has been broken at this stage.
Hilton and Marriott were contacted for comment.