Sept 2 (Reuters) - Commercial real estate data and

analytics company CoStar ( CSGP ) and a group of high-end hotels

have convinced a U.S. judge to dismiss a consumer lawsuit

claiming they improperly shared revenue and other data to keep

room prices artificially high.

Seattle-based U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik on Friday

said the consumers had not presented enough evidence for now to

show that CoStar ( CSGP ) and six hotel operators, including Hilton

, Hyatt and Marriott ( MAR ), agreed to illegally

share information on prices.

The consumers had alleged that hotels were violating

antitrust law by sharing prices, room supply data and future

plans, allowing them to inflate prices in Washington, San

Francisco, New York, Nashville, Austin and other cities.

Lasnik's order gave the plaintiffs a chance to amend their

lawsuit and try to persuade him a second time.

CoStar ( CSGP ) general counsel Gene Boxer in a statement said the

company welcomed the decision.

"This lawsuit has never made any sense, and dismissal of the

entire case is and was inevitable," Boxer said. "We look forward

to the case checking out for good shortly."

Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott ( MAR ) did not immediately respond to

requests for comment, and neither did a lead attorney for the

plaintiffs.

CoStar ( CSGP ) and the hotels have denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed last year, said hotels were using

CoStar's ( CSGP ) Smith Travel Research (STR) reports, which advertise

"performance benchmarking and comparative analytics" for the

hotel industry, to coordinate on room pricing.

CoStar ( CSGP ) and the hotels in court filings defended the reports,

which they said feature historical data on room availability and

revenue.

Lasnik said the plaintiffs were missing a "key ingredient"

in their lawsuit. The consumers, he said, had not shown that the

actual price of a hotel was either a required input into Smith

Travel Reports, or an output from the reports to the hotels.

The judge's order was the latest setback for plaintiffs

suing over hotel room prices. A U.S. appeals court last month

ruled for a group of Las Vegas hotels that were accused of

conspiring to overcharge guests.

The case is Jeanette Portillo et al v. CoStar Group ( CSGP ) et al,

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, No.

2:24-cv-00229.

For plaintiffs: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro

For CoStar ( CSGP ): Lawrence Buterman of Latham & Watkins

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