Australia accuses Airbnb of misleading customers on price & More News Here

Airbnb app is seen on a smartphone on this illustration taken, February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

June 8 (Reuters) – Australia’s antitrust regulator has filed a lawsuit towards Airbnb Inc (ABNB.O), accusing the accommodation-sharing web site of misleading customers into paying greater than marketed for his or her stays, widening its scrutiny of world know-how platforms.

From 2018 to 2021, the San Francisco-based web big marketed and charged room charges in United States {dollars} with out indicating the a lot greater figures in Australian {dollars}, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) mentioned in a courtroom submitting that it made public on Wednesday.

Airbnb refused to refund customers who complained about being misled, saying they’d chosen to view charges in U.S. {dollars} regardless that customers mentioned they’d not, the ACCC mentioned within the submitting. Airbnb additionally refused to refund foreign money conversion charges, claiming they had been banks’ duty, the regulator mentioned.

Airbnb was not out there for remark.

The lawsuit places Airbnb within the firm of a number of high-profile targets of a regulator bent on reining within the energy of massive know-how companies. Last yr, its actions led to Meta Platforms Inc’s (FB.O) Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google paying media retailers content material licensing charges.

It is at the moment conducting a assessment of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and different on-line retailers which will suggest adjustments to the sector.

In the Airbnb lawsuit, the ACCC mentioned customers “were deprived of the opportunity to make an informed decision about whether and at what price to book accommodation.”

They “suffered further harm in the form of price difference costs and, in at least some cases, transaction fee costs,” the regulator mentioned, with out giving greenback quantities.

Airbnb stood to profit unfairly over opponents as a result of the “false and misleadingly low prices conveyed … made the accommodation available on the platform appear to be more attractive,” the ACCC mentioned.

The ACCC mentioned it’s searching for an unspecified positive and courtroom orders for Airbnb to compensate affected customers. In an announcement, it mentioned hundreds of individuals had complained to Airbnb concerning the distinction in marketed costs and quantities charged.

The Australian greenback purchased a mean of 72 U.S. cents throughout the time coated by the lawsuit, which means a buyer renting lodging marketed at $500 would truly pay round A$700 plus international change charges, the regulator mentioned.

Reporting by Byron Kaye in Sydney and Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Christopher Cushing

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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