By Satyaki Dutta
Two powerhouses in Indian tourism sector – online travel agency, MakeMyTrip and the hospitality company, Oyo is in a hailstorm of trouble. They are facing an investigation as per the order of Competition Commission of India (CCI). The CCI ordered the probe as they received an official complaint of misuse and abuse of power to destroy the competitive pricing policy against these two dominant market moguls. Oyo already had its share of controversies and spats with the travel agents and hotels along with a percentage of the customer base, MakeMyTrip ensured the stronghold of its position by the merger with rival Ibibo Group. According to the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), this merger gave MakeMyTrip an uncontested dominance in the online travel agency market, which is further abused by the policy of deep discounting and predatory pricing, hurting the competitions and hoteliers alike. Based on six allegations by FHRAI, CCI has ordered the probe. One of the other major points, as claimed by FHRAI, is that MMT-GOIbibo offering preferential treatment to OYO by confidential commercial agreement, where the later get preference in the booking platform. Hence, competitors like Treebo and FabHotels have to suffer. Oyo and MakeMyTrip have refuted the allegations and further stated that they would actively cooperate with the commission’s review process to resolve the matter at the earliest.