EU · ongoing · ~6 min read
EU DMA compliance — Booking.com
2024–present · online hotel booking, online travel
Booking.com is a European gatekeeper for hotel booking. The Commission is still checking parity and data rules. Older cases that limited wide price-parity clauses did not end this file.
The story
Hotels have fought parity clauses for a decade. The DMA adds a gatekeeper layer on top of those older investigations.
Booking was designated in 2024. Supervision is about whether hotels can price and contact guests without the platform's permission.
National cases and this DMA file can both exist. Closing one does not close the other.
Why it matters
Independent hotels are the business users.
Travelers see the result as where the cheapest rate is allowed to appear.
What was claimed
Gatekeeper duties restrict parity and data use.
Compliance is still being assessed.
The other side
Booking says parity prevents free-riding on its marketing and that it meets DMA duties.
What it means for you
A hotel's own website may be allowed to undercut the platform only where a rule actually requires it.
Bottom line
DMA supervision of Booking.com is a live case. It is not the same as the older parity investigations.
Timeline
2024
Gatekeeper designation
The Commission designated Booking as a gatekeeper for its hotel online-intermediation service.
2025–2026
Duties under review
Data access and price-parity practices are the compliance questions. They are not the same as a closed national parity case.
Key dates
- Booking designated
- 2024
- Supervision continues
- 2025–2026
Formal snapshot
Summary: Booking.com was designated a DMA gatekeeper for hotel intermediation. Parity, data, and ranking duties are under supervision, separate from older price-parity investigations.
Regulator / plaintiff argument: A gatekeeper hotel platform must not use parity or data rules to stop hotels from offering a better deal on their own sites.
Outcome: Designation took effect in 2024. Compliance supervision continued through 2026. Older European parity cases narrowed wide most-favored-nation clauses and did not retire this DMA file.
Conduct tags
Laws referenced
- Digital Markets Act — Reg. (EU) 2022/1925
Companies
Sources
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