the sale of hotel booking contracts via internet: from a business and legal perspective

No medium in the past has revolutionised the sale of goods and services and communication between people as much as the internet. This development has not spared the German hotel industry either, leading to more and more hotels using the internet as a sales channel for concluding hotel accommodation contracts. Hotel guests, too, now act as a sales channel through hotel reviews or posts on blogs or their social media profiles. In addition, a multitude of companies with various business models - such as hotel price comparison sites or exclusive hotel offers - compete during every television advert break for consumers' favour, encouraging them to book their next hotel stay via their website or to find the cheapest deal through them. However, none of these business models would function without the hotels themselves, which market their services through these sales channels. In this context, the question arises as to what new business opportunities and risks a hotelier faces when marketing their hotel services online.