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Spain's National Court has suspended the 413-million-euro sanction that the national market and competition regulator (CNMC) imposed on Booking.com in July 2024. The sanction against the global tourist accommodation platform is the highest in the CNMC's history. It cites abuse of dominant position as one of the reasons, exemplified by the portal's ban on hotels to promote prices lower than those of Booking.com on their websites.
At the time of the announcement of the fine, Booking.com expressed its full "disagreement" and appealed the decision. Following the precautionary suspension of the fine, it has stated that it is "satisfied" with the decision of the National Court. Meanwhile, the appeal is still under consideration. "Booking.com does not agree with the CNMC's initial decision and we believe that it has a negative impact on both partners and consumers," the company said in a statement to SUR.
The CNMC stated that, while it respects the judicial decisions, "this is not a decision on the merits of the case or a definitive one, but a precautionary measure". It added that "the suspension of the fine is normal, requiring the company to provide a guarantee (generally a bank guarantee) to ensure payment if its appeal is ultimately rejected".
The discussion began in October 2022, when the CNMC opened a sanction file against Booking.com following two complaints by the Spanish association of hotel managers and Madrid's hotel business association. The platform was being accused of abusing its dominant position. It was considered that, by banning hotels from offering lower prices on their websites, Booking.com had "unfair" conditions for Spanish hotels and was implementing commercial policies that "could have exclusionary effects on other online travel agencies". According to the CNMC, these practices "exploited the situation of economic dependence that hotels have with Booking".
Booking.com's market share in Spain ranges between 70% and 90%, dating back to at least 1 January 2019. On the day that it received the sanction, the platform announced that its commitment to Spain would remain "intact".
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