UK Watchdog Probes Hotels’ Use of CoStar Platform

Britain’s top antitrust cop is taking a hard look at the hotel industry’s favorite benchmarking tool.

The Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into whether Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group and Marriott International shared competitively sensitive information through STR, the hospitality data platform owned by CoStar Group, Bisnow reported.

The watchdog said Monday it is examining whether data exchanged on the platform reduced competitive uncertainty and influenced how the chains made commercial decisions, potentially breaching the U.K.’s Competition Act 1998.

The CMA stressed that no conclusions have been reached and that no assumptions should be made about whether the law was broken. If the regulator finds preliminary evidence of wrongdoing, it would issue a formal statement of objections.

CoStar said it was surprised by the probe, describing STR as a “long-standing hotel data analytics and benchmarking platform that for decades has been used by companies and government entities alike to better assess market dynamics.”

The firm said it is cooperating fully and expects the investigation to take about six months. IHG confirmed it had been notified and said it would assist the inquiry. Hilton and Marriott did not immediately comment.

At stake is the ability for companies to use pooled anonymized performance data such as occupancy and average daily rate to benchmark against competitors. STR has long been a staple for hotel owners, lenders and operators underwriting deals or gauging asset performance.

For real estate investors, the platform’s data often informs acquisition models, refinancing assumptions and revenue projections.

The scrutiny follows a wave of U.S. litigation targeting algorithmic pricing tools. In 2024, CoStar and several hotel chains were hit with a class action alleging they used shared data to inflate room rates, though the case was dismissed.

More prominently, multifamily software firm RealPage faced federal and private lawsuits over rent-setting algorithms and reached a settlement with the U.S. government last year that imposed new guardrails.

— Holden Walter-Warner