Which? booking sites investigation finds troubling pricing disparities between laptop and mobile bookings

Many major accommodation booking sites now advertise ‘mobile exclusive’ discounts for customers who book a stay on their mobile phone rather than on a laptop or other device, but when Which? carried out a spot check of deals available on Booking.com, Hotels.com and Expedia to see if they are genuine, it found potentially misleading deals on both Hotels.com and Expedia.

While all of the ‘mobile exclusive’ deals the consumer champion analysed on Booking.com appeared genuine, five out of 10 ‘mobile exclusive’ deals Which? found on Hotels.com were the same price when researchers cross checked the bookings on a laptop.

In the case of Expedia, four of the ‘deals’ it checked were the same price on a laptop, and one was actually more expensive on mobile. In the latter example, Which? found a two-night stay in Athens was actually £15 cheaper to book on a laptop, despite the mobile rate being advertised as a saving. Even where savings could be found, they were sometimes exaggerated. For example, Hotels.com advertised a ‘40% off mobile exclusive’ offer for a two night stay at Ocean Drive Hotel in Seville, with the original price of £392 crossed out and a price of £235 in its place. While this was a saving of 40 per cent, mobile users would only save 14 per cent compared to booking on a laptop where the advertised price was £274, also down from £392.

Not only was the saving not as advertised in this case, it still wasn’t the cheapest way to pay. Researchers discovered that not only was booking directly with the hotel £13 cheaper, but it also offered a direct booking guarantee to match any lower rates found elsewhere and would throw in either an upgrade, a free breakfast or bottle of cava.

Researchers also found that when browsing booking sites on a phone, they were frequently prompted to download the app instead of continuing to use their mobile browser – often with the lure of further discounts. 

Hotels.com encourages users to download its app with a pop-up message that reads “Save even more on the app – get up to 20% off select hotels”. However, Which?’s spot checks found no instances where its app prices were cheaper than on a regular phone browser.

It may be that consumers are being pushed towards registering for the apps as this means giving away more personal details, enabling the sites to market their products in a more targeted way and generate more sales. When Which? put this to the booking sites concerned, Expedia and Hotels.com declined to respond, and Booking.com denied this is the case, saying that the app enhances the customer experience. As a result of its findings, the consumer champion has raised concerns about Expedia and Hotels.com’s pricing practices with both the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) and the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA). The sites were among those that faced enforcement action from the CMA for making misleading discount claims in 2019, and Which? is concerned its latest investigation suggests potentially misleading discount tactics might still be being applied. It also believes the examples it has found may be in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

Though some of the deals the consumer champion found were potentially misleading, it nonetheless found that savings can sometimes be made by booking on a mobile. 

On Booking.com for example, all of the mobile only rates the consumer champion checked were genuine deals. Researchers made a significant saving of £319 on the price of an apartment in Amsterdam listed on Booking.com. The weekend break would have cost £2,262 if booked on a laptop, compared to £1,943 on a mobile. Researchers also found it is possible to ‘deal stack’ by signing up to Booking.com’s loyalty programme, Genius. In the example above, signing in as a Genius Level 3 member (the highest membership tier) on a mobile cut the price by a further £271, to £1672. That’s a saving of 26 per cent compared to the original laptop price.

Similarly, a £206 weekend stay in Porto fell to £187 when booking on a phone instead of a laptop, and fell further to £169 when logged in as a Genius Level three member. That’s a saving of a fifth (18%) compared to the original laptop price. Among the genuine offers found on Expedia, Which? researchers saved £61 (10%) on a weekend in Edinburgh with a mobile exclusive offer. The two night stay otherwise cost £606 if booking on a laptop, compared with £545 on a mobile.

Which? is advising consumers to remember to shop around before booking - including comparing prices available on their mobile and on their laptop.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 

“Many of us will use a laptop to make big purchases like a holiday, but we could unwittingly be missing out on significant savings offered by ‘mobile exclusive’ prices. Next time you’re looking for accommodation, take five minutes to cross-check the prices on both your mobile and laptop to see if there is a cheaper price, and always call the property directly as this is often the best way to get the cheapest rate.

“It is unfair that millions of people are unknowingly forced to pay higher prices for hotel rooms simply because they use a laptop. We are also concerned that some of the so-called deals offered by Expedia and Hotels.com could be misleading consumers - and we're raising our concerns with the Advertising Standards Agency and the Competitions and Markets Authority.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors - 

Between 29th April and 1st May 2024, Which? collected hotel prices via laptop, mobile browser and app on Expedia, Hotels.com and Booking.com. In all cases Which? looked at two-night stays between 5-7th July and 29th July-31st August in destinations including Seville, Porto, Amsterdam, Berlin, Florence, Athens, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Palma and Dublin.

- Which? is concerned that discount claims made by Expedia and Hotels.com could be in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. Section 5 states that something could be a misleading action if it contains false information, or the overall presentation in any way deceives or is likely to deceive an average consumer in relation to specific matters (including the existence of a specific price advantage/ the price or the manner in which the price is calculated) and that causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not have taken otherwise.

-Previous Which? research on booking directly vs using a third-party booking site can be found here:Which? warns holidaymakers booking independently to go direct for flights and hotels - as it unveils best and worst travel booking websites

Ciel Suites (Athens) - Expedia 

Laptop price: £175

Mobile price: £190

Ocean Drive Hotel (Seville) - Hotels.com

Laptop price: £274

Mobile price: £235 (advertised as 40% mobile exclusive saving)

Rights of reply:

A spokesperson for Expedia Group (Expedia and Hotels.com) said: "Expedia always aims to provide competitive rates and bring value to our customers. We are looking into the points raised by Which? and look forward to further discussions on the matter."

A spokesperson for Booking.com said: “At Booking.com we have always envisioned the Connected Trip - which is our vision for an easier, more personalised and responsive future of travel - with technology at its centre. And that means ensuring that we are available in all of the various ways that people are booking travel.  For many customers, this means using their mobile devices, with Booking.com the number one downloaded travel app in the world in 2023. 

“The increased use of mobile is a consumer trend that has been recognised by our accommodation partners, which is why some, not all, offer mobile rates as a way to appeal to prospective customers to book rooms at their properties. However, it is important to note that savings are not limited to mobile, currently available on mobile and desktop are our 'Getaway Deals', which offer many discounts and lower prices throughout the year - which might not be picked-up in a random spot check.     

“We would not agree that we are focussed on collecting more data by encouraging users to book via mobile, our mobile app strategy is aimed at giving customers and our partners choice, while also enhancing their user experience. Through the use of the AI Trip Planner, for example, which enables more filters and options, ensuring that when you search for certain criteria you are presented with more relevant information to book your next trip. Overall we’re looking at how we can support customers across different verticals, helping with travel planning, booking and modifying a trip after it’s been reserved for a more seamless and connected travel experience.”

About Which? 

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation, we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

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