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The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) found Szallas.hu’s operating practice to be infringing, as the accommodation seeker was putting psychological pressure on consumers with its urgent messages, so the competition authority forced the company to operated the service to a complex package of measures.
According to a statement sent to the MTI by the Competition Authority, its investigation revealed that urgent information appears on the Szallas.hu website and on its mobile application, such as “four people plan to book here”, “only 38 people are watching”, “just two rooms left on our side.” The messages conveyed to consumers through psychological pressure that the accommodation they were looking for was only available to a limited extent.
This aggressive business practice method disrupts users’ decision-making process,
therefore, it can significantly limit your ability to make an informed decision – the GVH highlighted.
Szallas.hu Zrt., Which operates the hotel reservation site and app, cooperated with the competition authority during the procedure, acknowledged the infringement and abandoned the practice in question. Therefore, instead of imposing a fine, GVH has a complex system of compliance with legislation, market orientation and consumer information. – forced the company to implement a package of measures.
In this context, the company, among others transform your interfaces onlineand launches a consumer information campaign, which draws attention to behaviors that are appropriate for psychological pressure, the importance of recognizing them, and ways to avoid them. The company also conducts market research and consumer research on the topic, the results of which it informs other market participants such as hosting partners and e-commerce companies.
According to the GVH announcement, the commercial methods associated with the application of psychological pressure have multiplied recently, but their injustice is not always recognizable by consumers, since they partly affect the subconscious. The GVH recalled that in addition to several other illegal practices revealed a similar method for Booking.com’s accommodation search portal. However, Szallas.hu acknowledged the infringement against the Dutch company and voluntarily stopped using the objected messages.
The gigantic fine was imposed because the agency said it was deceptively advertised and exerted aggressive psychological pressure on users.
The package of regulatory obligations imposed on companies in this area helps to clean up the market and raise consumer awareness so that it can effectively serve to curb harmful practices.
The competition authority has problems similar to those for which it recently fined Booking.com 2.5 billion HUF.
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