UK Regulator Questions Hotel Data Use by Hilton, IHG, Marriott

The UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into whether Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Marriott International may have shared sensitive competitive information through CoStar Group’s STR data analytics platform.

The CMA’s review aims to determine whether the use of STR allowed these hotel groups to align pricing strategies or other operational choices, potentially dampening competitive pressures in the market.

Understanding STR and its safeguards

Hotel owners and operators have long submitted performance data to STR to access market insights. The platform provides metrics like average daily rate, occupancy, and revenue per room, typically across a competitive set of hotels.

CoStar asserts that the data is aggregated to protect individual properties, requiring at least four hotels in a comparative set, with a minimum of three independent of the subject hotel. Isolation checks are performed to prevent any single property from being individually identifiable.

Despite these precautions, the CMA warns that even anonymized benchmarking data can reduce competitive uncertainty. Access to this information can allow rival hotels to anticipate pricing and operational moves, which could, in turn, lead to coordination or less aggressive competition.

Investigation timeline and next steps

The CMA said it launched the inquiry in February 2026, with an information-gathering phase expected to last until August. Depending on the evidence, the regulator may either

• close the investigation with no action if no breach is detected, or
• issue a formal statement of objections if initial findings suggest a potential violation of UK competition law.

This investigation highlights the regulatory challenges that arise as technology and data analytics increasingly influence competitive decision-making in the hospitality sector.

In December 2025, the UK Advertising Standards Authority urged several train ticket sellers to modify marketing language after ruling that pricing claims on their websites were misleading. The regulator found that some phrasings suggested travelers would always get the cheapest fares by booking through specific sellers, without sufficient evidence to support those claims.

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