DOJ and FTC Weigh in on Hotel Price Collusion Case

Caesars Entertainment and other hotel operators in Atlantic City, N.J., have been fighting a class-action lawsuit alleging that their shared use of a third-party pricing system kept the city's room rates artificially high. On Thursday, two federal agencies took an interest in the case.

The Federal Trade Commission joined the Department of Justice Antitrust Division in filing a statement of interest in the lawsuit, which some travelers had filed against the hotel operators.

The argued that hotel competitors' use of the same software to set prices could count as collusion in some situations. The filing provided the agencies' view of antitrust law, aiming to guide the New Jersey district court.

In the case, plaintiffs — who booked hotel stays in Atlant