Expedia Bait and Switch Class Action Settlement Approved

After nearly five years of litigation, a federal judge has signed off on a settlement agreement between Expedia and California hotels on Friday, ending a class action alleging the travel booking giant used false “sold out” labels to favor partner hotels. 

Though the total amount Expedia will pay to end the class action is not yet known, the travel booking giant will pay $2.1 to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. In addition, Expedia has reportedly agreed to adopt policies that will ensure hotels are not listed as “unavailable” or “sold out” on its sites.  

The Buckeye Tree Lodge and Sequoia Village Inn cried foul when they say Expedia tagged them and other hotels as “sold out” or “unavailable” on its websites. In their 2016 class action, they said that Expedia unfairly favored establishments that paid a fee to partner with the online travel booking site, giving out false phone numbers and labeling non-partner hotels as unavailable.  

Calling the travel booking giant’s actions “brazen,” the lawsuit alleged that the false phone numbers would funnel customers to Expedia call reps, who would try to book them with partner hotels.  

In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that the travel booking site used their and other non-partnering hotel images and information on social media. Allegedly, customers would be directed to the Expedia website where the non-partnering hotel would be labeled as “sold out” or “unavailable” and encouraged to book with an affiliate hotel.  

The lead plaintiffs represented a Class of other California hotels and establishments that had not partnered with Expedia. The class action lawsuit was certified in 2019.  

Under the terms of the settlement, Expedia has agreed to implement a series of actions that would ensure that non-partnering hotels are not listed on its platform.  

“The settlement provides significant benefits to the Class and to the general public, as travelers will no longer be misled as to the availability of class member hotels that are not bookable on Expedia’s websites,” states the plaintiffs’ motion for approval of the class action settlement.  

Do you think you were misled by false “sold out” or “unavailable” labels on the Expedia website? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below! 

The hotels in the Expedia class action are represented by James R. Patterson, Allison H. Goddard and Jacquelyn E. Quinn of Patterson Law Group APC; Pierce Gore of Pratt & Associates; Charles J. LaDuca, Joel Davidow, and Alexandra C. Warren of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP; and Tony C. Richa of Richa Haffner Law Group PC. 

The Expedia Bait and Switch Class Action Lawsuit is Buckeye Tree Lodge and Sequoia Village Inn LLC, et al. v. Expedia Inc., et al., Case No. 3:16-­cv-­04721, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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