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Advice to STB on the improvements to the publication of hotel
industry information
Case team members:
Stephanie Panayi, Toh Shihua, Ethel Lin,
Jayme Leong
In November 2015, the Singapore Tourism Board (“STB”) consulted
CCS on a proposal to improve the timeliness in the publication of hotel
industry information. This information includes historical average room
rates (“ARR”), historical average occupancy rates (“AOR”), historical
revenue per available room (RevPar) (collectively, “Data”). This Data
is collected from gazetted hotels in Singapore and published on an
aggregated basis as well as by the four hotel tiers (luxury, upscale,
mid-tier and economy). The time lag in publication of the Data on
STB’s corporate website is several weeks after the close of each month.
To reduce the time lag in the publication of the Data and to provide
more useful information for the hotel industry, STB is exploring the
possibility of automating the information collection process from
hotels and to also allow users to customise the information they obtain
from STB’s website.
CCS considered that the exchange and publication of certain information
can increase market transparency, encourage competition and assist
efficient resource allocation. CCS also noted that the competition risks
are greater where commercially sensitive and confidential information
is exchanged or published. For example, the exchange or publication of
current or prospective commercially sensitive information is more likely
to facilitate anti-competitive conduct and lead to price convergence. As
the Data published by STB will continue to be aggregated and historical
in nature, CCS advised that STB’s proposal is unlikely to raise competition
concerns. However, regarding the potential customisation of the Data
obtained from STB’s website, CCS advised that it is important to have a
sufficiently large sample size to make sure that users will not be able to
reverse-engineer the Data to arrive at individualised hotel information.
ADVISORIES
CCS worked closely with various ministries and statutory boards to gain a better understanding of the markets they regulate, and to provide
advice on competition issues covering a wide range of activities within these markets. In FY2016, CCS issued a total of 27 competition advisories
to other public sector agencies.
Advice to ECDA on POP scheme
Case team members:
Winnie Ching, Lim Wei Lu, Nicholas Sim,
Yeo Hui Chuan
The Early Childhood Development Agency (“ECDA”) launched the Partner
Operator (“POP”) scheme in 2016 to support mid-sized and smaller
child care operators to keep fees affordable, build capabilities to raise
quality, and improve career prospect for Early Childhood professionals.
CCS recognised the benefits of the POP scheme.Working closely with
ECDA, CCS developed a guide on the key pointers to look out for regarding
information sharing for Partner Operators. CCS also conducted outreach
sessions to the Partner Operators to inform and educate them on the
exclusions and prohibitions of the Act as a consortium.
COMPETITION COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE
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