Booking.com faces antitrust probe

Spain’s antitrust watchdog CNMC said on Monday it would be looking into Dutch hotel reservation website Booking.com over possible unfair competition practices affecting hotels and rival online travel agencies in the country.

According to the regulator’s statement, the proceedings stemmed from two complaints filed by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers (AEDH) and the Madrid Hotel Business Association. It cited “reasonable grounds” to believe Booking.com may have infringed Spain’s antitrust laws as well as article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which bans companies from abusing a dominant market position.

“What we really want is those practices to end,” AEDH President Manuel Vegas told Reuters. 

The watchdog will reportedly investigate the case over the next 18 months. If Booking.com is found to have broken Spanish antitrust law, it could face fines ranging from €100,000 (nearly $98,000) to more than €10 million ($9.8 million) per infringement.

The complainants argued the booking website had imposed unfair conditions on hotels located in Spain and implemented policies that could lead to exclusionary effects on other online travel agencies and online sales channels. It may have also exploited Spanish hotels that are financially dependent on the popular accommodation services website, according to the watchdog.

Booking.com said in a statement it would cooperate with the investigation to answer any questions regarding its business in Spain.

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