Hotels revise tariffs several times a day: Study

Hotels in India revise their tariffs almost daily after tracking their competitors in order to gain more customers, retailers selling goods, revise several times a day, while those in the food business do not care much about how their rivals have priced eatables, a study by Competition Commission of India has said.

The study by the fair trade regulator was conducted to identify consumer-seller behaviour on growing e-commerce space and its implication for market and competition.

“The majority of the respondent hoteliers and retailers track competitors’ prices and adjust price levels in response. The frequency of price change was found to be high. In the case of goods, most of the respondent retailers were found to change the price several times in a day, while some reported price revisions on a weekly basis and during promotional events.

The majority of the hoteliers reported undertaking price revision on a daily basis. In the foodservice segment, only some respondent restaurants were found to track competitors’ prices,” the study which tracked the impact of e-commerce on competition and competitive strategies of businesses, said.

In another interesting finding, it said an Indian consumer weighs discounts, delivery charges and order cancellation policy of a restaurant while ordering food online. They prefer to see customer reviews and loyalty points while booking a hotel but eagerly look at the return policy of the company while ordering other goods.

E-commerce, the study said, has transformed the way price information is disseminated. On the one hand, consumers enjoy increased price transparency and the consequent ease of price-comparison.