The company Market abuse: Booking.com fined millions in Spain

The booking portal Booking.com has been fined millions in Spain. On Tuesday, the competition authority (CNMC) imposed a fine of 413 million euros on the Dutch subsidiary of the US group Booking Holdings.

The company is accused of "abusing its dominant position" on the Spanish market. This is the highest fine ever imposed by the CNMC.

Booking has imposed a series of "unfair terms and conditions" on Spanish hotels over the past five years, the CNMC stated. The company had harmed the hotels and also prevented other online travel service providers from entering the market or growing with additional mechanisms on its booking platform.

The fine is therefore made up of two parts: 206.6 million euros each for the unfair terms and conditions and for the breaches of competition vis-à-vis rival providers.

Booking.com is the European market leader in online travel bookings with a market share of 60 percent. In May, the EU added the company to the list of the most important digital companies covered by the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The new rules are intended to create fair competitive conditions and more choice for European consumers.

In Hungary, the competition authority had already fined Booking millions for unfair competition in 2020. This month, the Hungarian authority added another fine because Booking continued to violate rules.

SDA