- eLong (NASDAQ:LONG +0.4%) states a Beijing court has held rival Qunar (QUNR) in breach of contract over Qunar's early termination of a 3-year hotel inventory distribution agreement with eLong.
- Qunar has been ordered to resume the distribution agreement, and to pay RMB52.3M ($8.5M) in advertising credit. Qunar has also been ordered to pay eLong an ad credit of RMB27/room if "Qunar fails to meet the room night target of 450,000 PRC domestic hotel room nights per quarter under the Affiliation Agreement for any quarterly periods from October 1, 2014 through June 30, 2016."
- eLong has been ordered to pay Qunar $1.3M in commissions. Both companies can appeal within 15 days of the ruling.
- Qunar and Ctrip have been taking share from eLong: The former's revenue rose 108% Y/Y in Q3, while the latter's rose less than 2%. Qunar booked 10M room nights in Q3 (+85% Y/Y), and eLong 9.4M (+22%).