The Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (OIPMI) is calling on short-term accommodation providers to submit comments on the provisional findings and recommendations set out in chapter two of its provisional report.
This includes hotels, tourism activity providers and travel service providers.
The call for comments follows the 13July release of the provisional report by the Competition Commission. The report outlines its findings and recommendations after 14 months of evidence-gathering, public hearings and in-camera hearings into online intermediation platforms − including e-commerce, app stores, travel and accommodation platforms, food delivery and online classifieds.
Stakeholders and the public have until30 September to make submissions to the inquiry on the provisional findings and recommendations, with a final report set to be released in November.
The purpose of the OIPMI is to follow an evidenced-based approach in identifying market features of online intermediation platforms that may impede, distort or restrict competition; and to improve the participation of SMEs and historically disadvantaged persons in these markets.
The OIPMI covers online-based platforms such as Booking.com, Google, Airbnb, Travelstart, Lekkeslaap, Viator, Rentalcars, Busbud, Tripadvisor and more.
Some of the notable findings of chapter two of the provisional OIPMI report include:
- Booking.com and Airbnb have been identified as leading platforms for accommodation service provision, as they attract the pre-dominant online consumer traffic in their market category, on which accommodation providers are relatively dependent on to access online customers.
- The OIPMI has identified features that may impact competition between platforms and accommodation providers, including the application of wide and narrow price parity clauses and aggressive accommodation-funded discounts (often in exchange for enhanced visibility on the platform).
- Contractual issues that appear to be unfair between platforms and accommodation providers, including a lack of parity in payment terms, dispute resolution, and onerous overbooking and cancellation policies.
Written submissions can be sent via e-mail to oipmi@compcom.co.za; alternatively, the OIPMI team is amenable to in-camera meetings. The OIPMI says it will treat the identity of the people submitting commentary as confidential, although the information provided will be used by the OIPMI as part of evidence-gathering.
Comments from other stakeholders − such as academics, think tanks and public interest groups − are also welcome.
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