Million fine in Spain for Booking.com
Booking.com to Pay €413 Million Fine in Spain. Spain's competition watchdog (CNMC) imposed a €413 million fine on Tuesday against the Dutch subsidiary of U.S. conglomerate Booking Holdings for "abusing its dominant position" in the Spanish market. This is the highest fine ever imposed by the CNMC.
Booking has imposed a series of "unfair business conditions" on Spanish hotels over the past five years, the CNMC explained. The company has harmed hotels and also used other mechanisms on its booking platform to prevent the entry or growth of other online travel services.
The fine consists of two parts: €206.6 million each for unfair business conditions and anti-competitive behavior against rival providers.
Booking.com is the market leader in online travel bookings in Europe with a 60% market share. The EU added the company to its list of key digital companies subject to the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) in May. The new rules aim to create fair competition conditions and more choice for European consumers.
In Hungary, the competition authority had already fined Booking €1.1 million in 2020 for unfair competition. This month, the Hungarian authority fined the company again for continuing to violate rules.
Despite holding a dominant position on the market with a 60% share in online travel bookings in Europe, Booking.com's practices have attracted regulatory scrutiny. The company has been penalized for abusing its dominant position in the Spanish market, leading to a €413 million fine, which is the highest ever imposed by Spain's competition watchdog.
