The European Commission has today designated Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com, as a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Booking.com now has six months to comply with all the do’s and don’ts as a gatekeeper. HOTREC strongly supports the official designation. European hoteliers are confronted with far too many unfair business practices and impairments by Booking.com that have a huge impact on their performance. 

Booking Holdings is still attempting to prevent hotels from offering better prices on their own distribution channels than via the Booking.com platform. Moreover, Booking is not sufficiently sharing its data with hotel partners. These are just two of the many issues that should finally be resolved thanks to today’s designation of Booking.com as a gatekeeper under the DMA.  

Alexandros Vassilikos, HOTREC President, commented:
“After a decade-long struggle between European hotels and Booking.com, the DMA is now a real game changer. HOTREC is committed to constructive and transparent discussions with the European Commission and Booking.com.”

Markus Luthe, Managing Director of the German Hotel Association (IHA), added: 
“It is now important to ensure that the gatekeeper does not attempt to circumvent its new obligations and that it properly consults all affected stakeholders on its compliance solutions.” 

Background
According to HOTREC’s 2022 European Distribution Study, Booking.com is by far the most dominant online travel agency with a market share of over 70%. An updated version of the study on recent developments of online distribution channels is expected to be published in June 2024.

by HOTREC | HNR Hotel News