CCI Orders Probe Against Make My Trip, OYO

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a detailed investigation against Make My Trip (MMT) and OYO for allegedly indulging in anti-competitive business practices.

Ordering the probe, the CCI also noted that a prima facie case against MMT and OYO for entering into a vertical arrangement having an appreciable adverse effect on competition (AAEC) has also been made out.

The CCI order came in response to a complaint filed by Rubtub Solutions Pvt Ltd which operates under the brand name of Treebo Hotels in India and is engaged in the business of providing franchising services to budget hotels.

As per the complaint, Treebo and its partner hotels are being excluded from listing on MMT's platform through abrupt termination pursuant to the commercial arrangement between MMT and OYO.

Also, MMT is alleged to have imposed “price parity restriction” on Treebo partner hotels through the chain agreement, which restricted it from providing its properties to Booking.com and Paytm at a better price.

Additionally, MMT allegedly imposed an “exclusivity condition” on Treebo through exclusivity agreement which restricted it from listing its properties on Booking.com and Paytm for 72 hours and 30 days prior to check-in for hotels situated in category A and category B cities, respectively.

The complaint alleged that OYO abused its dominant position in franchising services for budget hotels in India by entering into an anti-competitive vertical arrangement with MMT, which is a dominant online travel agency (OTA), thus denying market access to it.