Australia: Announced ACCC lawsuit against Airbnb for misleading pricing practices

On 8 June 2022, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced proceedings with the Federal Court against Airbnb, Inc. and Airbnb Ireland UC for misleading pricing practices. Allegedly, between January 2018 and August 2021, Airbnb priced Australian residences in US Dollars (USD) while misleading customers to believe the prices were in Australian dollars (AUD). Namely, pricing details for Australian residences were detailed with the "$" sign, but the specification that this represented USD rather than AUD was displayed only in a small font on the last page before booking. The ACCC started proceedings and requested injunctions, penalties, and the compensation of affected consumers.