Hotel giants Hilton and Marriot under investigation for allegedly sharing secrets that could’ve inflated UK room prices
Britain’s competition watchdog has opened a formal probe into three of the world’s largest hotel operators – Hilton, Marriott International, and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) – accusing them of potentially exchanging competitively sensitive information through a third-party data tool.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the investigation on Monday (2 March), stating it is examining whether the chains used CoStar’s hotel data analytics platform STR to share details that rivals would not normally have access to.
Such information – including potentially granular data on occupancy rates, pricing strategies, or future commercial intentions – can reduce the natural uncertainty that drives competitive pricing, making it easier for companies to align behaviours without explicit collusion.
“Sharing competitively sensitive information, including through a third-party data analytics provider, reduces the uncertainty competing businesses normally have about how each other will act,” the CMA said in its announcement.
This can make it easier for them to predict and coordinate their behaviour, potentially harming competition in the UK hotel accommodation market, it said.
The probe centers on suspected breaches of Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements.
While the CMA noted that at this stage, no assumptions should be made about whether the law has been broken, the investigation will gather information over the coming months, with an initial phase running through at least August 2026, before deciding whether to issue a formal statement of objections.
Hilton, Marriott, and IHG together operate thousands of properties worldwide, with significant footprints across the UK in major cities like London, Edinburgh, Manchester, and tourist hotspots.
Room rates in the UK have faced scrutiny in recent years amid post-pandemic recovery, inflation, and event-driven demand, with consumers frequently complaining of high prices for even standard accommodations.
The involvement of STR, a long-established hospitality benchmarking service owned by CoStar Group, adds a layer of complexity.
Tools like STR provide aggregated industry data to help hotels benchmark performance, a practice generally viewed as pro-competitive when data remains anonymised and historical.
However, if the platform facilitated the exchange of forward-looking or identifiable sensitive details among direct competitors, it could cross into anti-competitive territory.
CoStar is also under investigation as part of the probe. IHG and CoStar have indicated they intend to cooperate fully with the CMA’s inquiries.
