Connecticut Attorney General shuts down Industry Practice of "Call Arounds"

It’s a common practice in some destinations across the country whereby hotel staff will call other properties to check occupancy levels and rates. However, MLTA recently learned that such “call arounds” are coming under increased scrutiny by a variety of state attorneys general.

The AGs believe such phone calls can be “a potentially anticompetitive practice in which competing hotels exchange current room rate and occupancy information that can be used to fix prices.” Such activities can be judged to be a per se’ violation of state or federal anti-trust laws.

Here’s an excerpt from recent news article in which Connecticut Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, characterized his action as "a wake-up call to the entire hotel industry -- signaling that ‘call-arounds’ to set room prices are illegal and must be stopped."

Read the entire article by clicking HERE.

You can also read the actual press release issued by Connecticut’s Attorney General to learn more.

MLTA suggests that you proceed with caution if you are considering engaging in this practice. While we understand that this practice might be legal, and under certain circumstances is clearly legal, we believe that it can create serious risks and that it is inadvisable to engage in this practice without the advice of legal counsel.

In short, when dealing with state or federal anti-trust laws, it is better to be safe than sorry!