UKHospitality has welcomed proposals by the European Commission to provide transparency and certainty regarding online platforms.
The Commission proposals require platforms to ensure objective and more transparent procedures when setting their terms and conditions for business users and redress mechanisms; as well as more transparency regarding rankings and scrutiny of complaint handling.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “Digital platforms and the digital economy has evolved enormously in a very short space of time and, in many cases, regulation has failed to keep pace. This proposal from the Commission is a good first step in ensuring that there is transparency for businesses and customers.
“All too often, SMEs find themselves at a disadvantage, so we welcome efforts to level the playing field. This is something that UKHospitality has been rigorously pushing for: across Europe through HOTREC and in the UK. We will continue to fight to ensure that SMEs, and larger businesses that can also find themselves at a disadvantage, are able to operate in a fair environment.
“Competition authorities in other countries, such as Germany are taking a proactive approach to legislation regarding online platforms to safeguard transparency and flexibility. We are urging the UK Government and the CMA to take a similar approach to the issue so that UK businesses do not find themselves at a disadvantage.”
