Hilton, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels involved in price-fixing scheme, class action alleges

Luxury hotel class action overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Ryan Segal filed a class action lawsuit against five major international hotel chains.
• Why: The luxury hotel chains are accused of conspiring to exchange competitively sensitive information to fix prices.
• Where: The luxury hotel class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

A revived class action lawsuit accuses Amadeus IT Group, S.A., Hilton Domestic Operating Company Inc., Marriott International, Inc., The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., among others, of conspiring to fix prices for hotel rooms by exchanging competitively sensitive information.

Plaintiff Ryan Segal says the hotel chains used Amadeus’ Demand360 platform to exchange non-public occupancy data with each other, allowing them to raise prices without fear of losing market share.

According to the luxury hotel class action lawsuit, the hotel chains knew they could raise prices during periods of high demand because their competitors were also fully booked. During periods of low demand, the hotels were able to maintain higher prices because they knew their competitors were also experiencing low occupancy, Segal says.

The luxury hotel class action lawsuit claims the hotel chains’ use of Demand360 caused hotel prices to rise overall even as demand fell. Segal says the average daily rates for luxury hotels increased more than 28% from 2019 to 2023, while occupancy declined by more than 8% during the same period.

Luxury hotel chains violate Sherman Act, class action alleges

The luxury hotel class action lawsuit alleges the hotel chains’ exchange of competitively sensitive information violated the Sherman Act. 

Segal argues the exchange allowed the hotel chains to coordinate pricing and maintain higher prices than they would have been able to charge in a competitive market.

“The increases in prices, untethered from room occupancy, significantly outpaced inflation,” the response said. “That type of change from historical patterns is meaningful direct evidence of anticompetitive effects — evidence defendants ignore.”

Segal is seeking to represent a class of consumers who paid for a luxury hotel room from one of the defendants from Oct. 1, 2018, through May 31, 2024. He asserts claims for violations of the Sherman Act and seeks an award of damages and treble damages, as well as an injunction prohibiting the defendants from continuing their alleged anticompetitive conduct.

The luxury hotel class action lawsuit comes after a federal judge dismissed a previous version of the suit, finding Segal had failed to adequately explain how the exchange of occupancy data allowed the hotels to coordinate pricing.

Segal’s new complaint provides more detail about how the exchange of data allegedly allowed the hotels to maintain higher prices in the luxury hotel price-fixing class action.

What do you think of the allegations made in this luxury hotel class action lawsuit? Tell us in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Steven M. Berezney, Pamela I. Yaacoub and David W. Walchak of Korein Tillery LLC; Vincent Briganti, Christian Levis, Nicole A. Veno and Claire Noelle Forde of Lowey Dannenberg, P.C.; and Geoffrey H. Kozen, Ryan W. Marth and Julie C. Moroney of Robins Kaplan LLP.

The luxury hotel class action lawsuit is Ryan Segal, et al. v. Amadeus IT Group, S.A., et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-01783, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• IKEA recalls garlic presses due to laceration and ingestion hazards
• Two class actions claim Duo Broadband was negligent in data breach
• TCL sued for allegedly misleading consumers on QLED TV claims
• Walgreens class action alleges company failed to provide rest, meal breaks