The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has condemned EUR 413 million to Booking for “abuse of dominant position” and “breach” the articles of the CNMC Defense Act. In particular, these are two fines of EUR 206.6 million each.

As explained by the CNMC, the company imposed on hotels conditions that were not equitable and that could not be far exceeded. Most importantly, the room Booking.com has a clause that prevents them from being offered on their websites below the price set on the web. He is also charged with an abuse of exclusive dominant position. In fact, they encourage hotels to make reservations only online through Booking, preventing the entry or dissemination of competitors on the market.

Consequently, the CNMC has noted the existence of "unfair commercial conditions" that prevent hotels from offering lower prices of their rooms on their websites, while Booking reserves the possibility of reducing the room price that the hotel publishes on the platform. In case of conflict with the General Procurement Clauses, they cannot go to the Spanish courts and must make use of Dutch law, resulting in unfair litigation costs. He also stressed that other recruitment agencies have reduced competition.

Booking will resort to the sanction

The sanction is not final, as the multinational can file an administrative appeal with the National Court, which has a period of two months to file a complaint. Booking has stated that he will do so. "The company does not agree and intends to follow the legal channels to correct this "no precedent" decision, he added. "Although we are disappointed by the consequences of the last CNMC decision, our commitment to the Spanish market remains the same," he added.