UPDATE:
Triptease says it actually turned off the content with its rates from Booking.com on the Price Check widget shortly after the legal letter was sent to hoteliers.
It did not communicate this important fact to Tnooz in any of the correspondence during the course of our coverage.
The company says it turned off the Booking.com rates because it wanted to "protect our customers from the threats".
In a statement today, CEO Charlie Osmond says:
"Well over 90% of our clients have asked for it back, which will gradually start happening from next week."
"This implies that they want what's in the interest of consumers - be transparent with pricing on their site."
ORIGINAL:
Some hotels have accepted a threat by Booking.com last week to alter how the online travel agency is displayed in a controversial rate comparison widget.
A letter sent to hoteliers which have installed the Price Check widget provided by Triptease were told they have until the end of last week (November 27) to remove the feature or ensure Booking.com's branding and rates do not appear.
Triptease says around 5%-10% of its hotel customers have "asked to show different OTAs (at least in the short-term)" since the letter was sent and the deadline was passed.
The company says no hotels have removed the widget from their websites.
Around 7,900 hotels are either live with the widget or have contracted to "go live imminently", Triptease says.
Triptease has not given any additional commentary regarding up to 10% of its customer base having acceded to Booking.com's demands.
Triptease's Price Check widget works by sitting on the result pages of hotel websites, and kicks into action by showing the price for a room at the property at three OTAs.
The idea is that the consumer will see a demonstration "that the price is fair" and potentially book direct with the hotel if it sees that the price is cheaper than on the large OTAs.
The Priceline Group-owned hotel booking service says Triptease is "unlawfully accessing" data to collate the information provided on the widget.
Furthermore, it also points out that by showing the data, which it says is "often misleading, inaccurate and misrepresents the prices and availability being for rooms at your hotel on Booking.com", hotels could be in breach of advertising regulations in the European Union and elsewhere around the world.
Booking.com has declined to comment on any aspect of the story.
In the letter last week, Priceline Group-owned Booking.com wrote that it had instructed its lawyers to pursue the matter with Triptease and that it would also be taking legal action against hoteliers as each will then be considered in breach of their contracts with the online hotel giant.