Hotels.com, L.P. v. City of Columbus

Thompson, Justice.

The facts and arguments in this appeal are virtually identical to those in Expedia, Inc. v. City of Columbus, 285 Ga. 684 (681 SE2d 122) (2009). Like its sister company, Expedia, Hotels.com, L.P, is an online travel company which books hotel rooms and makes other travel arrangements for customers who access its services over the internet. Hotels.com’s main business model, known as the “merchant model,” is to contract with hotels for the right to broker or facilitate the reservation of hotel rooms at a discount or “wholesale rate.” Hotels.com then advertises and offers the…