The Federal Court has ordered Airbnb Ireland US,which operates the Airbnb website and app for Australians,to pay $15 million in penalties and up to $15 million in compensation.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said it was reasonable that Australians would have assumed prices were in Australian dollars.
“By paying in US dollars,these consumers were charged more than they expected to pay,and were deprived of a chance to make an informed decision about whether to make the booking because of this misleading conduct regarding the price,” she said.
More than 2000 Australians raised complaints with the ACCC about being charged and displayed prices in US dollars during the 3½-year period. From August 31,2021,Airbnb amended its platform and began displaying US prices with “USD”.
Airbnb Australia Pty Ltd,which is largely a marketing business promoting the brand locally,was not involved in the lawsuit brought by the ACCC.
Airbnb Australia and New Zealand country manager Susan Wheeldon said the matter was fixed soon after it was brought to their attention and that Airbnb was committed to price transparency.