Paris 2024 Olympics: soaring prices at luxury hotels under close watch by fraud authorities

As the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris approach, luxury hotels in the French capital are under the watchful eye of the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF). Inspectors from the Paris office have begun examining the hotel sector, with a particular focus on upscale establishments, to scrutinize prices and services being offered for the summer of 2024.

The goal is to ensure that the services provided will match the high room rates, which could, during the Olympic period, reach 3 to 5 times the usual rates.

So far, approximately 600 establishments, across all categories, have been inspected, resulting in fines totaling 111'000 euros. The DGCCRF examines online reviews, particularly on Google and TripAdvisor, using the Polygraph software to confirm their authenticity. Hotel websites are also scrutinized to verify the accuracy of information regarding location, room size, views, and services offered.

General terms and conditions of sale have been one of the factors triggering the most sanctions for hoteliers. These often involve incomplete general terms, unclear cancellation clauses, or formulations now prohibited by law, such as "the hotel disclaims all responsibility in case of theft." During hotel visits, the conformity of the room's appearance compared to the photos displayed on the website, as well as the correspondence of the prices listed to the services actually provided, are verified.

Depending on the type of offense, fines can go up to 300'000 euros and up to two years in prison for an individual or 1.5 million euros for a company. The French Ministry of Tourism is thus waging war against opaque practices. The Directorate for Fraud Control's actions come in response to concerns raised by the City of Paris about the staggering price increases announced for next summer. It has been observed that the average price for a night in a hotel in Paris is projected to increase by up to +314% between July 2023 and July 2024. For luxury hotels, with 4 or 5 stars, the increases are hovering around +240% for the entire duration of the Games.