Spain’s antitrust regulator, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), has imposed a record fine of €413 million on the online travel agency Booking.com, a subsidiary of the New York-listed Booking Holdings (BKNG.O).
The fine consists of two separate penalties of €206.6 million each, reflecting the severity of the company’s monopolistic practices over the past five years.
The CNMC’s decision comes after an investigation into Booking.com’s market conduct since 2019, during which the company held a dominant market share in Spain, fluctuating between 70% and 90%.
According to the regulator, Booking.com exploited its dominant position to impose unfair conditions on hotels, effectively stifling competition from other online travel service providers.
The platform’s market dominance not only disadvantaged competitors but also restricted hotels’ ability to offer lower prices on their websites compared to those listed on Booking.com. Furthermore, the company unilaterally applied discounts to hotel rooms without prior consultation with the establishments.
These practices were highlighted in complaints filed in 2021 by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers (AEDH) and the Madrid Hotel Business Association. The complaints led to a thorough investigation by the CNMC, culminating in the historic fine.
The regulator’s findings also indicated that Booking.com required Spanish hotels to resolve any disputes in the Netherlands, adding an additional layer of complexity and difficulty for these hotels in pursuing legal recourse.
To maintain its market share, Booking.com offered various incentives to hotels that generated higher booking fees for the platform, thus discouraging hotels from collaborating with alternative service providers. This strategy effectively limited the ability of other companies to enter or expand within the market, reinforcing Booking.com’s dominant position.
In response to the CNMC’s ruling, a spokesperson for Booking Holdings announced that the company intends to appeal the fines, expressing strong disagreement with the outcome of the investigation. The spokesperson suggested that the issues raised by the CNMC should be examined under the framework of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act rules, which govern the conduct of large digital platforms. According to the CNMC, the company has the right to appeal the decision in Spain’s high court.
This case underscores the broader regulatory scrutiny faced by major digital platforms across Europe, as authorities seek to ensure fair competition and protect consumer interests. In May, the European Union classified Booking.com as a major digital entity subject to stricter competition regulations. The EU aims to enhance consumer choice and expand business opportunities for hotels by curbing the market power of dominant players like Booking.com.
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Antitrust: EU Commission publishes market study on hotels’ distribution practices
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