Booking Holdings

The European Commission opened formal proceedings against Booking.com under the Digital Services Act on October 21, 2026, alleging the platform failed to diligently assess and mitigate systemic risks from fraudulent property listings and phishing scams that exploit its reservation and guest-messaging data, and failed to clearly label 'boosted' paid search listings as advertisements as required by DSA Article 26(1). A Commission official described Booking.com's approach as 'absolutely substandard.' The investigation follows a multi-year preliminary review of Booking.com's risk assessments and is being conducted in cooperation with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets.

After its Amsterdam works council withheld consent on May 22, 2026 to a proposed mandatory two-day-per-week office attendance policy (replacing a non-binding 40%-of-time guidance under which average attendance had fallen to 27%), Booking.com filed for court-ordered substitute consent on June 30, 2026. At an October 6, 2026 Amsterdam court hearing, Booking.com argued competitive pressure, including from AI, required more in-person collaboration; the works council objected that the company had not shown the policy would achieve its goals, had not tried less restrictive alternatives, and offered no compensating measures. The proposed policy includes disciplinary measures up to termination for repeated non-compliance. The judge signaled sympathy for Booking.com's position at the hearing; a ruling was expected in late October 2026.

Following 'substantive regulatory dialogue' with the European Commission under the Digital Markets Act, Booking.com implemented voluntary changes on September 28, 2026: it removed contractual parity clauses that barred hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites, stopped using external price comparisons to determine eligibility for its 'Booking Sponsored Benefit' placement, and published new transparency information on ranking methodology and program eligibility criteria (Genius, Preferred, Preferred Plus). The European Commission described these as compliance measures following dialogue, not a formal infringement decision or fine. The changes are without prejudice to separate ongoing national antitrust investigations in Greece, Italy, and Spain.

The EU General Court rejected Booking.com's appeal of the European Commission's 2023 prohibition of its EUR1.63 billion ($1.90 billion) acquisition of flight-booking group eTraveli. The Commission had found the deal would strengthen Booking.com's dominant position in the hotel online-travel-agency market and let it foreclose rival flight-and-hotel bundling competitors, even though the merger would have increased Booking's market share by only a few tenths of a percent. The court found errors in the Commission's market-share calculations but left the prohibition in force.

UK consumer group Which? set up a fake listing for the UK Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street on Booking.com in minutes, using the real address and photo. The listing received 14 inquiries in a 20-minute window, had a fabricated 10/10 review published despite promised moderation, and Booking.com processed a payment for a week-long stay that remained unrefunded more than six weeks later. Which? also used Booking.com's internal messaging system to send an external phishing-style payment link requesting card details without triggering interception. The listing stayed live for about six weeks before removal on August 27, 2026; under Booking.com policy, hosts are not required to provide ID or proof of ownership until three months after a listing goes live. Booking.com disputed the test's methodology, and Which? urged UK regulator Ofcom to investigate the platform's compliance with the Online Safety Act.

Italy's antitrust authority (AGCM) opened an investigation into Booking.com over alleged unfair commercial practices in how it ranks and presents hotels. The probe targets the 'Preferred Partner' and 'Preferred Partner Plus' programs, which Booking.com markets as selecting properties based on service quality and value for money, but which regulators allege actually favor hotels that pay higher commissions with better search placement and visual prominence. Booking.com said the programs are optional and compliant with consumer protection rules; the investigation is ongoing.

Booking.com confirmed that unauthorized third parties accessed customer data including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and reservation details (financial information and postal addresses were not affected). Within about two weeks, security researchers observed criminals using the stolen booking details to run 'reservation hijack' phishing scams via WhatsApp and other channels, impersonating hotels with real reservation data to trick guests into sending money. Booking.com updated PIN numbers for affected reservations and notified customers, but declined to disclose how many customers or which regions were affected.

On March 4, 2026, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that Booking.com's price-parity clauses (used 2004-2024, which barred hotels from offering lower rates through other channels) violated EU competition law, following a September 2024 CJEU preliminary ruling to the same effect. The case, brought by the Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance (SHCA) on behalf of participating hotels, moved to a damages phase. SHCA's collective action grew from 3,087 hotels at its January 30, 2026 filing to 10,783 hotels by a July 30, 2026 expansion filing, with a further expansion targeting roughly 18,000 hotels planned for autumn 2026. Hotels are seeking damages estimated at 30% or more of commissions paid to Booking.com over 2004-2024, amounting to several billion euros, backed by HOTREC and more than 30 national hospitality associations.

Poland's UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) ruled on August 12, 2025 (decision RKR-3/2025) that Booking.com breached Polish consumer rights law by failing to clearly disclose whether accommodation listings were offered by entrepreneurs or private individuals, misinforming consumers about which legal protections applied to non-entrepreneur bookings, and leaving the division of responsibility between Booking.com and suppliers unclear when handling complaints. The authority ordered platform transparency changes within one month and required compensation for consumers who booked between January 1, 2023 and implementation, including automatic Genius loyalty-tier upgrades or travel credits.

Booking Holdings announced layoffs of 'more than 200 and fewer than 1,000' employees at Booking.com, primarily affecting its Amsterdam workforce of 7,000. This came despite reporting a 37% increase in net profit to $5.9 billion in 2024. The company claimed layoffs were 'not a cost-cutting measure' but 'an effort to operate more efficiently.' Previous layoffs: 2,700 in 2022, 4,000 in 2020.

Spain's competition authority (CNMC) fined Booking.com €413 million for abusing its 70-90% market dominance over 5 years. Violations included: enforcing price parity clauses preventing hotels from offering lower prices elsewhere, unilaterally reducing room prices, opaque commission programs (Preferred, Genius), and manipulating search rankings to restrict competition from other OTAs.

Dutch Public Prosecutor is investigating Booking.com following a criminal complaint by human rights NGOs (SOMO, ELSC, Rights Forum, Al-Haq) alleging the company profits from war crimes by listing vacation rentals in illegal Israeli settlements. Evidence showed listings in East Jerusalem tripled from 13 to 39 in one year. Complaint filed under anti-money laundering legislation. Booking denies allegations.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Booking.com launched a program on March 21, 2022 allowing property owners to offer free accommodation or discounts of up to 100% to Ukrainian refugees, with Booking.com waiving its commission fees on these bookings. The program launched in 10 countries and expanded to 22 by mid-2022, covering last-minute bookings of up to 30 days.