MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Oyo Face CCI Penalties Totalling Rs. 392 Crore for Unfair Business Practices

MMT was allegedly giving preferential treatment to Oyo on its platform, further leading to a denial of market access to other player

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 19 October 2022 19:48 IST

MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Oyo Face CCI Penalties Totalling Rs. 392 Crore for Unfair Business Practices

Photo Credit: Reuters

The CCI ordered a detailed investigation into the matter in October 2019

Highlights

A fine of Rs. 223.48 crore has been slapped on Make My Trip-Goibibo
MMT-Go allegedly imposed price parity in agreements with hotel partners
CCI asked MMT-Go to modify agreements to remove exclusivity conditions

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday slapped penalties totalling more than Rs. 392 crore on online travel firms MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and hospitality services provider Oyo for unfair business practices.

A fine of Rs. 223.48 crore has been slapped on Make My Trip-Goibibo (MMT-Go) and Rs. 168.88 crore on Oyo, according to a 131-page order.

Among others, it was alleged that MMT-Go imposed a price parity in their agreements with hotel partners. Under such pacts, the hotel partners are not allowed to sell their rooms on any other platform or on its own online portal at a price below the price at which it is being offered on the two entities' platforms.

Besides imposing penalties, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has directed MMT-Go to "suitably modify its agreements with hotels/chain hotels to remove/abandon the price and room availability parity obligations imposed by it on its hotel/chain hotel partners with respect to other OTAs (Online Travel Agencies)".

Also, CCI has asked it to modify agreements to do away with certain exclusivity conditions.

"MMT-Go is directed to provide access to its platform on a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory basis to the hotels/chain hotels, by formulating the platforms' listing terms and conditions in an objective manner," it added.

It was also alleged that MMT gave preferential treatment to Oyo on its platform, further leading to a denial of market access to other players.

The regulator ordered a detailed investigation into the matter in October 2019.

MakeMyTrip (MMT) acquired Ibibo Group Holding in 2017. MMT continues to operate its hotels and packages business through MMT India under the brand name MakeMyTrip, and Ibibo India under the brand name Goibibo.

5G is here. Should you buy a 4G phone? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.