
Marriott lost its bid to delay an antitrust trial set to start October 25 over its alleged role in an industrywide scheme to rig online advertising auctions, when a federal judge in Texas ruled Wednesday, October 20, that its concerns about a magistrate’s decision were “unfounded.”
Judge Robert W. Schroeder III denied the hotel chain’s emergency motion to postpone a trial while he reviews a federal magistrate’s report advising him to consider antitrust claims by TravelPass, which brokers hotel room sales through digital advertisements—under a per se legal framework.
Related: Marriott Looks To Delay Antitrust Trial With Emergency Motion
The lawsuit, which has been filed by class-action law firm Hagens Berman, contests that Choice Hotels International, Hilton, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International and Wyndham Worldwide took part in an anticompetitive agreement to reduce or eliminate online branded keyword search advertising against each other. Hagens Berman maintains that as a result of this, consumers were deprived of the “free flow of competitive information,” raising the price of hotel rooms as well as the cost of finding rooms.
The lawsuit states that each hotel defendant entered into an agreement to refrain from using specific online advertising methods to compete for consumers. The agreement prevented competing hotel entities from bidding for online advertising that used their competitors’ brand names. In the example included in a release from Hagens Berman, Hilton Hotels declined to bid on keywords that would prompt its hotels to appear in searches for Hyatt-branded properties, in turn making it more difficult for consumers to obtain information about competing hotels. Because of this, Hagens Berman maintains that the defendants made it more difficult to compare and contrast information such as price and quality when booking hotel stays.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Boeing to Sell Key Digital Aviation Units to Thoma Bravo in $10.55 Billion Deal
Apr 22, 2025 by
CPI
Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, Key Figure in EU Antitrust Policy, Dies at 94
Apr 22, 2025 by
CPI
Instagram Co-Founder Claims Zuckerberg Starved It of Resources After Acquisition
Apr 22, 2025 by
CPI
Binance Advises Governments on Crypto Rules and Digital Asset Reserves
Apr 22, 2025 by
CPI
OpenAI Eyes Chrome If DOJ Forces Google to Sell Browser, Exec Testifies
Apr 22, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Mergers in Digital Markets
Apr 21, 2025 by
CPI
Catching a Killer? Six “Genetic Markers” to Assess Nascent Competitor Acquisitions
Apr 21, 2025 by
John Taladay & Christine Ryu-Naya
Digital Decoded: Is There More Scope for Digital Mergers In 2025?
Apr 21, 2025 by
Colin Raftery, Michele Davis, Sarah Jensen & Martin Dickson
AI In the Mix – An Ever-Evolving Approach to Jurisdiction Over Digital Mergers in Europe
Apr 21, 2025 by
Ingrid Vandenborre & Ketevan Zukakishvili
Antitrust Enforcement Errors Due to a Failure to Understand Organizational Capabilities and Dynamic Competition
Apr 21, 2025 by
Magdalena Kuyterink & David J. Teece