(Economic Observation) Is it really legal for hotels and homestays to "go up every holiday"?
China News Agency, Beijing, October 3rd, Question: Is it really legal for hotels and homestays to "go up every holiday"?
Author Wang Dongyu
During China's National Day holiday, many "little bees" who work from 9 to 5 have started the tour mode.
However, the high cost of accommodation that can't book a room with thousands of yuan (RMB, the same below) has also become a headache for everyone.
Everyone has become accustomed to the fact that hotel prices "will go up every holiday", but is this really legal?
Hotel orders are hot, prices are soaring
The travel consumption data released by Tongcheng Travel on the first day of the "November" holiday shows that the prices of hotels and homestays in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and other cities have risen significantly compared with normal; some popular resort hotels in suburban areas are hard to find during the National Day holiday.
Meituan’s data shows that the number of hotel package bookings on the platform has increased by nearly 2 times month-on-month, and the search popularity of accommodation around the local area has increased by about 80% month-on-month. Among them, the popularity of homestays with urban characteristics such as Beijing Siheyuan and Shanghai old villas has increased by 213%. %.
As the number of hotel orders has grown, so have the prices.
Searching for popular tourist attractions such as Jiuzhaigou, Universal Studios, West Lake, etc. on the travel platform, the room prices of surrounding hotels have increased significantly during the holidays, and many have increased by 50% to 100%.
Faced with the rising tide of hotel prices, consumers can't help but feel confused: Is such a price increase legal?
Hotel holiday prices have a clear legal basis
Zhang Ming, a partner and lawyer of Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, said in an interview with China News Agency that according to Article 3 of the "Price Law of the People's Republic of China", the state implements and gradually improves the mechanism that prices are mainly formed by the market under macroeconomic control.
Zhang Ming said that the setting of prices should conform to the law of value. Most commodity and service prices are subject to market-adjusted prices, and very few commodity and service prices are subject to government-guided prices or government-fixed prices.
At present, hotel rooms are not within the scope of government guidance or government pricing. The price is mainly adjusted by the market. Generally, as long as the price is clearly marked, it is not illegal.
In this regard, Mr. Cao, who is planning a holiday trip, believes that it is understandable that hotel prices will increase reasonably during the holidays.
However, if there is a significant deviation between the service quality, hardware conditions and the price of the hotel, there will be a feeling of being "robbed by the fire".
Ms. Hong, who has been in the hotel management industry for 20 years, said that hotel orders surged during the holidays, and the oversupply caused hotel prices to rise naturally.
In addition, employee salary costs and hotel procurement costs will also rise during the holidays.
The price increase of the hotel has a range, and there are many disadvantages in violation of the regulations
Since it is legal, can the price increase of hotels on holidays be "not capped"?
In this regard, Zhang Ming introduced that under normal circumstances, the price increase rate is determined by the merchants according to market laws.
However, a "Opinion on Regulating the Market Price of Hotel Room" published in 2010 mentioned: "Tourist hotspot areas and surrounding areas of large-scale event venues may, in accordance with the provisions of the "Price Law of the People's Republic of China", implement the price of hotel rooms. Temporary price intervention measures such as price ceilings will ensure the basic stability of hotel room prices.”
The specific price limit standard, the country does not have a unified range, and it is up to each region to grasp.
For hotels that violate the price limit standards, according to the provisions of Article 10 of the "Administrative Penalties for Price Violations", the operators do not implement the statutory price intervention measures and emergency measures, otherwise they will face: confiscation of illegal income and a penalty of 5 times the illegal income. If there is no illegal income, a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 1 million yuan shall be imposed, and if the circumstances are more serious, a fine of not less than 1 million yuan but not more than 5 million yuan shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification.
Consumers should raise awareness of rights protection
Zhang Ming said that the state has long paid attention to the phenomenon of hotel prices "rising every season". On the basis of the "Price Law of the People's Republic of China", the "Opinions on Regulating the Market Prices of Hotel Rooms" proposed seven measures, including: Establish a hotel room price monitoring and information release system, formulate an emergency response mechanism for abnormal fluctuations in hotel room prices, and implement clear price regulations for hotel room prices.
For consumers, Zhang Ming suggested that consumers can ask for a refund for the room fee paid beyond the local maximum price limit. The solution can be negotiated by themselves, or request mediation from the Consumer Protection Association, or they can report to the market supervision or price management department. Complaints, reports, or sue to the people's court, etc. to safeguard their rights.
At the same time, he proposed that consumers should enhance their legal awareness and have the courage to play games against any price violations encountered in the process of consumption, which will help to better form a fair, legal and honest price order and consumption environment.
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