N Haidu all-media reporter Liang Zhanhao Intern Wu Shirong text/picture
The "May Day" holiday is approaching, and when the reporter booked air tickets and hotels online, he found that there are "different packages available for purchase" and "different room rates" on the same platform, what is going on?
Test:
Different accounts book the same room type, and the price is different
When the reporter used two Android mobile phones to book the same hotel on the same platform, he found that there were differences in prices even though they were of the same room type.
Taking the stay in Pingtan Guohui International Hotel on May 1 as an example, the reporter queried the price of the deluxe double room on a mobile phone was 1878 yuan, and after the "spring special" and "10 billion coupons", the final price was 1671.8 yuan. However, when using another account on another phone, the amount of the additional offer is different, although the base rate is the same. After the same preferential operation, the price of the account is cheaper than the previous mobile phone, which is 1634.8 yuan.
On the same platform, there are differences in the preferential amount of "tens of billions of coupons" for different devices
A similar situation is also seen on other mobility apps.
When the reporter inquired about a flight from Fuzhou to Beijing on May 1, he found that the fares and discounts displayed on different mobile phones were also different. On one mobile phone, the ticket price is 500 yuan after a discount of 20 yuan, while on the other mobile phone, the non-discount ticket price is 505 yuan and comes with a travel voucher package that includes additional benefits such as car rental vouchers, ticket vouchers and day passes.
However, four hours later, the reporter checked the same flight information again and found that the package with a ticket price of 500 yuan after a discount of 20 yuan no longer existed.
On the same platform, different devices query different ticket packages
Platform:
Coupons are issued randomly, and there are differences between accounts
The customer service staff of the above-mentioned platform explained that it is because there are different combinations of multiple coupons under different accounts, resulting in different prices in the end.
After the reporter provided relevant comparison screenshots, the customer service staff said that the difference in the reporter's inquiry order was mainly reflected in the amount of "10 billion coupons", and the "10 billion coupons" were randomly issued by the system, and the discounts provided were also random. The customer service staff emphasized that consumers can use the price displayed on the order page as the standard.
is also an ordinary member, and the price of "tens of billions of coupons" varies greatly
Subsequently, the reporter consulted the customer service staff of the ticket booking platform. The other party said that the above two kinds of tickets are discounted, but the fare of 505 yuan belongs to the package, and the preferential amount is not directly displayed on the interface. As for why the ticket packages of the two accounts are different, the customer service explained that there will indeed be differences between each member account.
In response to the situation that the 500 yuan package "disappeared" in a short period of time, the customer service said, "The price of the ticket will fluctuate as the ticket is booked and sold, and the specific submission shall prevail."
Lawyer:
Price differentiation strategies should be transparent and consumers should be informed
For the above situation, the reporter consulted Lin Qian, a lawyer from Beijing Deheng (Fuzhou) Law Firm of Fujian lawyer Haidu Public Welfare Group. Lawyer Lin Qian said that such situations involve the price personalization strategy carried out by the platform to different users, which is very common in e-commerce platforms, travel booking platforms and other fields. Typically, differentiated pricing strategies are based on a variety of factors, such as a user's purchase history, location, device type, browsing behavior, and more.
According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, consumers have the right to know and the right to fair trade, and if the price differentiation strategy leads to opaque or misleading information, it may be considered as infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. However, if the platform can prove that its price difference is based on legitimate business considerations and that consumers have a full right to be informed about it, then this is acceptable.
If a consumer is confused about a platform's pricing strategy or believes that it may be acting unfairly, they can try to consult the platform's user agreement and privacy policy for a description of their pricing and promotion policies, or contact customer service to ask about the specific reason for the price difference. If you're still not satisfied, you can file a complaint with your local consumer advocacy organization for further explanation or legal help.
Editor: Chen Jiahui
Intern Editor: Chen Xuan