three questions on the practices of Parisian hotels pinned by UFC-Que Choisir

“Stunning prices”, obligation to book several nights… In a study, the consumer association points out the practices of the hotel industry seven months before the Paris Olympic Games. But are they legal?

Prices for Parisian hotel rooms are almost tripled when the Paris 2024 Olympic Games kick off next summer. This is what UFC-Que Choisir denounces, in a study revealed Tuesday, December 26. The consumer association analyzed 80 hotels at random in Paris, comparing the prices two weeks before the Olympics and the prices charged on the day of the opening ceremony, Friday July 26, 2024. It also reveals that in 30% of hotels, it is impossible to even book a single night. To find a room, you must reserve a minimum number of nights. So, are all these practices legal? Franceinfo takes stock.

1 Can hotels raise prices this way?

In the law, nothing prohibits hotels from increasing their prices. According to the Commercial Code, hotels can freely set the price of rooms. On the other hand, they have the obligation to display the current prices, inside and outside their establishment in a clearly visible manner. This can, for example, allow the customer to compare the price they paid at the time of booking and the price displayed.

When booking, hotels also often ask for an advance, a “deposit”. Again, there is no legal maximum percentage. Each hotel sets the amount and must include it in the general conditions of sale.

2 Do hotels have the right to impose a minimum number of nights?

According to article L122 paragraph 1 of the Consumer Code, it is “prohibits the sale of a product or service from being conditional on the concomitant purchase of another product or service”. Expressed differently: it is prohibited to force the customer to buy more than he wishes.

This rule could apply to hotels, but in fact they do not explicitly impose anything on customers: hoteliers block rooms for several consecutive nights. And if you try to book for just one night, the hotel tells you it’s full. It is therefore not strictly speaking illegal and it is also a commonly applied practice, as confirmed by the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih) to franceinfo.

However, it is prohibited, for example, to require you to pay for breakfast in order to reserve a room. This would be the typical case of subordinate selling.

3 How do the authorities check all these practices?

It is the DGCCRF, the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, which is responsible for this. She watches over the “consumer protection” and at “fair balance of competitive relations”. As the Olympic Games approach, it plans to double controls, with up to 10,000 establishments inspected in 2024.

More than 1,700 companies were already inspected last year and 70% of establishments were guilty of at least one anomaly. Hotels which do not display their prices, which do not give the customer a detailed invoice at the end of their stay or which do not display the obligatory information in the conditions of sale. If you yourself are the victim of a dispute, you can report it on the Signal Conso website.