THE ITALIAN COMPETITION AUTHORITY PUBLISHED THE COMMITMENTS SUBMITTED BY BOOKING.COM

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has published today the commitments submitted by Booking.com International B.V., Booking.com B.V., and Booking.com (Italia) S.r.l. during an investigation into alleged abuse of a dominant position in breach of Article 102 TFEU.

The case is well-described by Rosaria Garozzo in an article of International Journal of Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Law titled The growing influence of competition law in tourism https://files.tourismlaw.pt/The-growing-influence-of-competition-law-in-tourism-by-Rosaria-Garozzo/

On March 21, 2024 Booking.com was accused of attempting to exclude other Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) from the online hotel intermediation services market by leveraging its market power over accommodation facilities. The relevant market for the product is “the market for intermediation services and online reservation of overnight stays offered by OTAs to hotel and para-hotel accommodation facilities”. “Hotel and para-hotel accommodation facilities” are defined with reference to articles 8 and 9 of the Tourism Code (Legislative Decree nº 79/2011).

The strategy involved making Italian hotels less autonomous in differentiating their rates between Booking.com and other online sales channels through programs like Partner Preferiti, Preferiti Plus, and Booking Sponsored Benefit. According to the AGCM, through the combined application of the Preferred Partner Programme (“PPP”), the Preferred Partner Programme Plus (“PPP+” and, together with the PPP, “Preferred Programs”) and the Booking Sponsored Benefit (“BSB”), Booking.com would be “able to limit the autonomy of the structures in defining their pricing strategy, reproducing effects possibly similar to those deriving from the application of parity clauses.

These programs offered increased visibility in search results in exchange for higher fees and commitments to offer competitive prices on Booking.com.

Booking.com has submitted several commitments to ensure that prices on other online sales channels are not considered in the operation and promotion of these programs.

The commitments ensure that external prices won’t influence participation in Booking’s programs, preventing any potential effects similar to “rate parity” clauses. Partners retain full freedom to set prices on competing OTAs and their direct channels, supporting competition in the market.

Interested third parties can submit comments on these commitments by September 13, 2024, after which AGCM will decide whether to accept them.

Carlos Torres