The judgment by the Court of Appeal of Paris on June 21 found the parity clauses applied by online travel agent Expedia in contracts with hoteliers to be illegal. Both Expedia and sister OTA Hotels.com were ordered to cease demanding hotel rate-parity guarantees. The appeal was brought by the French economic ministry following a commercial court ruling in 2015 on a government lawsuit alleging “undue hindrance to the commercial freedom of hotels” by the US company dating back to 2013. Get the full story at Travel Weekly UK