{"id":215766,"date":"2024-03-22T12:11:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T11:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante"},"modified":"2024-03-22T12:11:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T11:11:34","slug":"lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante","title":{"rendered":"The antitrust investigates Booking.com: possible abuse of dominant position"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The investigation focuses on the <em>Preferred Partner Program of Booking.com<\/em>, which offers visibility advantages to hotel establishments in exchange for specific conditions.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Sommario<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ab3016db5459\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ab3016db5459\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\/#What_is_the_Bookingcom_Preferred_Partner_Program\" >What is the Booking.com Preferred Partner Program?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\/#Accusation_of_abuse_of_dominant_position\" >Accusation of abuse of dominant position<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\/#Antitrust_inspections\" >Antitrust inspections<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\/#Bookingcoms_response\" >Booking.com\u2019s response<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\/#Implications_for_the_online_hotel_booking_market\" >Implications for the online hotel booking market<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\/#What_happens_now\" >What happens now?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_Bookingcom_Preferred_Partner_Program\"><\/span>What is the Booking.com Preferred Partner Program?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Preferred Partner Program is an affiliation program offered by Booking.com to hotel establishments. Those who join the program gain greater visibility on the Booking.com booking platform, but in exchange, they face higher commissions and are required to offer competitive prices compared to other online travel agencies.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Accusation_of_abuse_of_dominant_position\"><\/span>Accusation of abuse of dominant position<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to the Antitrust authority, Booking.com would have implemented policies that could reduce customer choice. Hotel establishments participating in the Preferred Partner Program would have agreed to offer more competitive prices and pay higher commissions, gaining greater visibility on the Booking.com platform. However, this strategy could hinder effective competition in the online hotel booking market.<\/p>\n<p>The Antitrust authority stated that this practice could have negative effects on other online travel agencies as well as on the hotels themselves. Additionally, consumers could suffer adverse consequences such as higher prices and fewer online booking service options.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Antitrust_inspections\"><\/span>Antitrust inspections<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To conduct the investigation, the Antitrust authority carried out inspections at Booking.com offices in Italy, in collaboration with the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza. These inspections aim to gather evidence and information to assess whether Booking.com has actually violated competition rules.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bookingcoms_response\"><\/span>Booking.com\u2019s response<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>&#8220;We can confirm that we are fully cooperating with the Guardia di Finanza and the Competition and Market Authority, which yesterday carried out inspections at our offices in Italy&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Booking.com responded to the Antitrust inspections by stating that it is fully cooperating with the competent authorities. The company affirmed its commitment to ensuring fair competition and offering its customers a wide choice of hotel booking services. However, at the time of writing this article, Booking.com has not issued further comment on the matter.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Implications_for_the_online_hotel_booking_market\"><\/span>Implications for the online hotel booking market<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Antitrust investigation into Booking.com raises important issues regarding competition in the online hotel booking market. If Booking.com is found guilty of abusing its dominant position, corrective measures could be implemented to restore fair competition within the sector.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the investigation could impact how other online hotel booking platforms operate. It may be necessary to review affiliation policies and the conditions offered to hotel establishments to ensure fair competition and adequate consumer choices.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_happens_now\"><\/span>What happens now?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Antitrust investigation into Booking.com for alleged abuse of dominant market position in the online hotel booking sector is a significant development in the industry. Ensuring fair competition and appropriate consumer choice is essential, avoiding situations where a single platform dominates the market and restricts competition.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome of the investigation will determine whether Booking.com has indeed violated competition regulations and if corrective measures are needed. Meanwhile, consumers and hotel establishments can continue to use Booking.com as a booking platform, bearing in mind that the investigation could lead to changes in the sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The Competition and Market Authority (Antitrust) has initiated an investigation against Booking.com for alleged abuse of dominant position in the online hotel booking services market.<\/div>\n<p> <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/en\/lantitrust-investiga-su-booking-com-possibile-abuso-di-posizione-dominante\" title=\"The antitrust investigates Booking.com: possible abuse of dominant position\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":212511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-215766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-travelnews-en","tag-booking-com-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fulltravel.it\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}