Booking.com Gets ‘Gatekeeper’ Status Under Digital Markets Act
European regulators say Booking.com must comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The European Commission (EC) announced Wednesday (Nov. 13) that Booking Holdings — the travel website’s parent — had been designated as a “gatekeeper” under the DMA and must make sure the company adheres to the law.
Margrethe Vestager, who oversees antitrust efforts for the EC, said this will lead to more fairness and transparency in Booking’s role as an intermediary between consumers and hotel, car rental and other travel-related businesses.
“For example, until now many hotels and rental companies in the EU were obliged to guarantee the best prices on Booking.com,” she said.
“Now EU businesses are free to differentiate prices and conditions on any online sales channel they wish to use. This proves that the DMA is an important tool in making online marketplaces fairer for businesses and more open to competition.”
According to the EC, hotels and other travel services will get new access to data they and their customers generate by using Booking.com. Businesses can now transfer that data to other platforms, helping them develop new deals and offers and become more competitive.
Booking is required to demonstrate its compliance with the DMA by outlining the measures undertaken in a compliance report. The company has already submitted an “independently audited description” of the techniques it uses to profile consumers.
If the EC concludes that the company’s solutions do not comply, it can take action, such as fining Booking up to 10% of its worldwide turnover.
The news comes days after Booking said it was conducting a review into its business that could include “an expected workforce reduction” at Booking.com.
“We believe these efforts will improve operating expense efficiency, increase organizational agility, free up resources that can be reinvested into further improving our offering to both travelers and partners, and better position the company for the long term,” the company said last week in a regulatory filing.
“We will be consulting with works councils, employee representatives, and other relevant organizations, and expect to develop more clarity on these organizational changes, including with respect to timing, expected impact on employees, financial impact, and other aspects of the contemplated changes in due course.”
The company’s review reportedly applies specifically to Booking.com, and does not cover its brands, which include Priceline, Agoda, Kayak and OpenTable.
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