The authority found that Booking.com abused its dominant market position over the past five years by imposing unfair conditions on Spanish hotels using its platform.
The Booking.com reviews said the company forbids hotels offering lower room prices than those registered on Booking.com. CNMC began an investigation in October 2022 after protests by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers and the Regional Hotel Association of Madrid. CNMC confirmed that the Booking.com website enforced unjust terms and conditions on hotels. The competition declared that it is difficult for travel agencies to compete.
Booking.com had a 70% and 90% share of Spain’s online hotel booking market for online travel agencies during this time. Booking.com website was founded in Amsterdam in 1996 as a startup. The company is now one of the most popular digital tourism companies worldwide. Booking.com hotels can develop by putting their business on an online platform.
The CNMC’s ruling mandates Booking com to make changes to guarantee fair competition in the market. “The company has committed two abuses of its dominant position since at least January 1, 2019 until today by imposing various unfair commercial conditions on hotels in Spain that use its booking intermediation services and restricting competition from other online travel agencies… that offer the same services.” Booking.com reviews say in a press release.
CNMC concluded that the platform Booking.com hotels required an unfair price clause for hotels using their platform. Booking.com customer service provides that hotels can’t list lower prices on their websites than on the Booking com website. The Booking.com hotels can reduce their price offer through their website or application. “We strongly disagree with the outcome of the CNMC investigation,” said a spokesperson for Booking Holdings.
Also, CNMC found issues with Booking.com’s customer service. They declared that only an English version of the terms had legal value, whereas two of the laws applicable to the terms are of the Netherlands. The issue with Booking.com customer service became too costly for Spanish hotels to take Booking com to court.
Moreover, the Booking.com reviews say there is a deficiency of transparency around the value of Booking.com hotels. It is also a series of subscription products that allow Booking.com hotels to grow their position in the platform’s ranking. Hotels can do this by paying higher commission fees or providing some of their rooms at discounted rates.
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