Spain fines Booking.com $448 million euros for abusing dominant position
Technology
Spain fines Booking.com $448 million euros for abusing dominant position
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's anti-trust watchdog fined Booking.com 413.2 million euros ($448 million) for abusing its dominant market position since 2019 in the country.
The regulator, CNMC, said in a statement on Tuesday it imposed two fines of 206.6 million euros on Booking.com, a unit of New York-listed Booking Holdings, for taking advantage of its 70% to 90% market share to impose unfair conditions on hotels and restrict competition from other online reservation service providers.
Booking Holdings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The proceedings stemmed from two complaints filed by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers (AEDH) and the Madrid Hotel Business Association in 2021.
CNMC said the booking website bans hotels from offering lower prices on their sites than on Booking.com, while unilaterally imposing price discounts on hotel rooms without consulting the hotels.
Booking.com also forces Spanish hotels to sue in the Netherlands in case of conflict, CNMC said.
To keep its high market share, Booking.com offers benefits to hotels that bring it more fees, limiting the ability of alternative service providers to convince hotels to work with them.
The online reservation service can appeal the fine in the Spanish high court.
