The Spanish competition authority announced that it has imposed a fine of $446.45 million on the Dutch travel booking platform Booking.com for "abusing its dominant position" at the expense of the Spanish hotel sector. A spokesperson for the agency stated that "this fine is the highest ever imposed by the national markets and competition authority."
The agency confirmed that Booking.com "misused its dominant position by imposing a number of unfair commercial conditions on Spanish hotels."
Competition Prevention
It noted that the platform, by doing so, prevented "competition from other online travel agencies acting as intermediaries for hotel bookings in the country," which constitutes a violation of European law. This led the organization to impose two fines of $223.33 million each, one for the unfair conditions imposed on hotels, and the other for the restrictions placed on other travel agencies.
The authority emphasized that "the total penalty amounts to $446.6 million," clarifying that this fine is accompanied by "certain obligations to ensure the cessation of these practices in the future."
The Dutch hotel booking platform announced the opening of this investigation in February, two weeks before the implementation of the European Digital Markets Act (DMA). It indicated that it faces a fine of $530 million (€489 million).
Booking.com stated that it "will appeal this decision" if made, questioning the right of the Spanish competition authority to impose this fine concerning the rules of European digital market law applicable at the European level.
The company said in a statement: "The Digital Markets Act is the appropriate forum to discuss and evaluate the primary concerns raised by the Spanish competition authority."