UK regulator examines how hotels use STR benchmarking data

Investigation into Hilton, IHG, and Marriott raises questions about how shared market data may influence pricing decisions

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into whether Hilton, IHG, and Marriott International shared competitively sensitive information through STR, the hotel benchmarking platform operated by CoStar. The regulator is examining whether the exchange of key performance indicators such as occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), and RevPAR could make competitors’ pricing behavior more predictable. STR data has long been a standard tool used by revenue managers to benchmark performance against the local market. The investigation does not question the general use of benchmarking tools, but it may clarify how hotel performance data can be shared and used without raising competition concerns.

Key takeaways

• Regulatory investigation underway: The UK Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Hilton, IHG, Marriott, and CoStar over whether hotel performance data shared through the STR platform could raise competition concerns.
• Focus on shared market data: The regulator is examining whether sharing aggregated metrics such as occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR might reduce uncertainty between competing hotels and make pricing behavior easier to anticipate.
• Benchmarking remains common practice: STR data is widely used by revenue managers to understand market performance and competitive positioning, and the investigation does not suggest that benchmarking itself is inherently illegal.
• Potential implications for revenue management: Depending on the outcome, the case could influence how hotels access, interpret, and share market performance data through third-party benchmarking platforms.
• Possible financial consequences: If companies are found to have breached competition rules, they could face fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue.
• Investor reaction: Shares of Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and CoStar declined after the investigation was announced, reflecting uncertainty around possible regulatory outcomes.
• A wider regulatory focus on data sharing: The CMA has recently increased scrutiny of industries where shared data platforms may influence competitive behavior, suggesting that similar practices could face greater regulatory attention in the future.

Source: The Guardian

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