Japan Anti-Trust Watchdog Accuses 15 Tokyo Hotels Of Price Fixing

Japan’s Fair-Trade Commission is expected to issue notices to 15 Tokyo area hotels that have allegedly engaged in price fixing in the form of sharing booking data and projected future prices.

The practice had been ongoing for decades, and representatives from these hotels had monthly meetings where information was exchanged.

Sharing sensitive data between hotels could be considered cartel-like behavior, and some properties had used this information to influence their future pricing strategies.

Hotels named in the probe:

• Hotel Metropolitan
• Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo
• Hyatt Regency Tokyo
• Hotel New Otani Tokyo
• The Okura Tokyo
• Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel
• Hotel Chinzanzo Tokyo
• Asakusa View Hotel
• Palace Hotel Tokyo
• Royal Park Hotel
• Imperial Hotel Tokyo
• Dai-ichi Hotel Tokyo
• The Prince Park Tower Tokyo
• Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba
• Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo

Here’s an excerpt from the NHK:

Sources say sales officials of the 15 hotels attended a monthly Front Reservation, or FR, meeting in Tokyo. Participants shared internal information such as room occupancy, average fees, and policies to set future daily rates. The members have taken turns hosting the meetings, which began several decades ago.

Sources say a Fair Trade Commission probe has not found any coordinated, simultaneous rate increases, but some hotels reportedly used the shared information as a yardstick to set their own rates.

The Hyatt Regency Tokyo apologized for causing concerns among its guests. It admitted sharing information with other hotels, but says it was intended to gather information on how other firms manage hotels. It attributed this to a lack of awareness about legal compliance. The hotel says it will work harder to educate its staff.

Conclusion

Some companies collect and distribute hotel pricing and occupancy data, which I’m sure those working in revenue optimization departments closely study. This is not considered illegal.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is going to issue a warning to stop this informal information sharing, and hotels have told them that these practices have already ended.

Hotel pricing in Japan has priced locals out of many Western-branded properties, which have seen multiple-fold increases since the pandemic.

Source