Booking.com’s DMA deadline is approaching

Find out how the EU's Digital Markets Act affects Booking.com and what changes hoteliers can expect from the announcement on November 14th

As of today, Booking.com's EU website remains largely the same as it was in May when its gatekeeper status was confirmed. According to the guidelines, there are specific areas that we expect Booking.com to address in its report next Thursday.

Key takeaways

• Although Booking.com removed rate parity clauses in July, it still uses "algorithmic persuasion" to reward hotels that offer the best rates. This approach may raise concerns under the DMA because it could still put pressure on hotels;
• The DMA requires gatekeepers to avoid self-preferencing, which means that Booking.com would theoretically have to provide customers with alternative booking options on its site - such as a direct booking link to the hotel;
• The DMA requires gatekeepers to share platform-generated data with business users, which means Booking.com may need to give hotels access to insights such as booking trends and customer demographics to help them make better decisions;
• DMA compliance may prevent Booking.com from restricting hotels to platform-only guest communications, although the company is likely to resist given the value of first-party guest data and relationships.

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