- The Texas OAG filed a lawsuit against Booking Holdings, Inc., a travel reservation company, for allegedly violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by falsely marketing hotel rooms at prices that were not available to the public as advertised.
- In the complaint, the OAG alleges that Booking’s websites—which include Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com—engage in “drip pricing” and omit mandatory fees from advertised room rates, which allegedly thwarts comparison shopping and lures consumers with artificially low room prices. The complaint also alleges that Booking’s conduct places its competitors at a competitive disadvantage because they will lose customers to Booking even when Booking’s actual rates are not lower.
- The OAG seeks a permanent injunction preventing Booking from engaging in false or misleading advertising, as well as civil penalties, restitution, and disgorgement.