Swiss Hotels Hit By Undercutting On Booking Platforms

According to a study published on Tuesday by industry body Hotelleriesuisse, hotel rooms are being listed on sites such as Booking and Expedia at lower prices than those offered directly by the hotels themselves, often without their consent.

In 2025, around half of the 171 hotels surveyed said they had been affected, up from 40% the year before. In 83% of cases, hotels had not approved the lower prices.

“Price cuts can force hotels to lower their own direct rates to stay competitive, creating a downward spiral,” said Hotelleriesuisse director Christian Hürlimann in a statement.

Hotels also risk gradually losing control over their pricing and distribution. While direct bookings still account for the largest share (59%), so-called online travel agencies (OTAs) remain influential: for many businesses, these platforms are still their main digital distribution partners.

The market is also highly concentrated. Booking alone accounts for more than 70% of online bookings, with Expedia at around 15%.

Although price parity clauses have now been banned, OTAs continue to exert indirect influence over prices through rankings, visibility and discount programmes. Some 29% of hotels report direct interventions in their pricing.

On top of this, the growing use of“multi-sourcing” – where rooms are resold via third parties – now affects more than half of hotels, making it even harder for them to keep control of prices.

Translated from Italian by AI/sp

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