'Double ticketing' lawsuit against Airbnb certified as a national class action

A B.C. man has succeeded in having his claim against Airbnb certified as a national class action lawsuit.

Arthur Lin of Vancouver alleges the accommodation booking company is guilty of "double ticketing," a rarely cited criminal offence under the federal Competition Act.  

Simply put, double ticketing is when a vendor displays two different prices for a single product and then charges the customer the higher one. 

Airbnb is appealing the certification.

According to his statement of claim, Lin booked a seven-day stay in Japan in May of 2016 on Airbnb. The accommodation he selected was shown as costing $109 a night.

But when he booked the service, he was redirected to a listing page displaying a second price of $855 for the seven nights, the equivalent of $122.14 a night.

The higher, second price included an extra $91 Airbnb tacked on for service fees.

2 prices for 2 different products?

In arguments, Airbnb claimed the offence of double ticketing does not apply in its case because the two prices are for two different products: the actual accommodation offered by hosts to guests reflected in the first price and the listing service reflected in the second, higher price.

But in his analysis, Justice Denis Gascon said the company "mischaracterizes" its own product.

"I am satisfied, that when read in context, Mr. Lin's statement of claim identifies one 'product' supplied by Airbnb, namely the accommodation booking services offered and supplied by Airbnb through its platform," he wrote.

"Put differently, I do not find it plain and obvious that, as argued, the pleadings relate to two prices for two different products."

Lin's co-counsel Simon Lin (no relation) said Airbnb's claim of selling two products doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

"It's just like if you go to McDonald's and order a Big Mac for $2.99. And then when you go to pay they add a wrapper fee of 50 cents [as if] the wrapper is a different product," said Simon Lin.

'Uncharted territory'

In the decision, Gascon notes that Lin's claim "certainly appears to be stretching the potential interpretation and application of Section 54 of the Competition Act ... extending it into unchartered territory." 

However, he does say the concept of double ticketing can be extended to the technologies and commercial practices of today's digital marketplace, even though it was first introduced into law in 1975 to address stores listing two different prices for a single item. 

An estimated 2.2 million Canadians reserved on Airbnb between Oct. 31, 2015, and Aug. 2018, according to the claim.

It names Airbnb Inc., Airbnb Canada Inc., Airbnb Ireland Unlimited Company and Airbnb Payments UK Limited as defendants.