Google ‘pushed biggest travel spenders in search results’

GOOGLE has been accused of favouring Booking.com and Expedia in search results over smaller companies as they were the “two largest spenders” with the tech giant.

Google faces allegations from a former executive that it prioritised the pair because they accounted for more than 70pc of the company’s travel revenues.

Robin Frewer, a former commercial director at Google, issued the allegations as part of an employment dispute with the company.

Mr Frewer is suing for unfair dismissal after he was ousted following accusations of sexual harassment. He claims he was fired for blowing the whistle on allegations of anti-competitive behaviour at Google.

In a witness statement, Mr Frewer said he repeatedly raised his concerns over Google’s anti-competitive behaviour as a member of its risk committee.

He said: “Booking.com had their own team allocated to them within Google, a direct line of communication to the most senior management and often advance notice of new functionality.

“Both Booking.com and the Expedia Group had significantly grown on the back of revenues derived from Google traffic and their preferential treatment.

“I pushed hard to get a greater diversification of Google revenues and a greater level of participation on Google from smaller travel businesses.”

He alleged that Google had become “increasingly reliant” on the two companies for its revenues and wanted to avoid the costs of dealing with a larger number of small businesses.

But Noah Samuels, the vice-president at Google who managed Mr Frewer, wrote in his witness statement: “We are very focussed on user experience at Google, and so if a particular advertiser provides a good user experience, that has a multiplier effect on their bid [for advertising space].

“The larger online travel agencies tend to run very slick products that offer a positive user experience.

“This, combined with their greater financial resources, means they will have good chances of success in our auctions.”

A spokesman for Google said: “The decision to dismiss Robin was in no way connected to any concerns relating to his business area ... the allegation that our business practices were or are anticompetitive is entirely false.”

A spokesman for Expedia said the company was investing in “the widest selection of travel options”.

Booking.com did not respond to requests for comment.