The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has initiated a competition supervision procedure against Booking.com B.V., suspecting that the Dutch multinational has violated professional diligence requirements by providing misleading information about the pricing of its services. This investigation is not the first for Booking.com, which has previously paid approximately 3 billion HUF in fines for various violations.

Booking.com, based in the Netherlands, is a leading accommodation booking intermediary in Europe, particularly in Hungary, offering services for millions of accommodations. The website attracts over 500 million visitors during peak holiday seasons.

The GVH has observed that Booking.com fails to ensure predictability and reliability regarding the pricing of its services, as prices can vary across different devices and formats (e.g., mobile app vs. desktop), despite the services being identical. Additionally, the authority suspects that the company engages in misleading commercial communication regarding the discounts available at different levels of its Genius program.

Since January 1, 2022, Booking.com has likely misled Hungarian consumers, prompting them to make purchasing decisions they might not have otherwise made, potentially leading to additional costs for them.

The initiation of the competition supervision procedure does not imply that the company has committed a violation. The procedure aims to clarify the facts and prove the alleged infringement. The investigation is set to last three months, with the possibility of two extensions of up to two months each if justified. The GVH emphasizes that the time taken for the client to provide necessary data for fact clarification does not count towards the administrative deadline.

The GVH is closely monitoring the online accommodation booking and intermediary market, especially during holiday periods. In 2020, the authority imposed a significant fine of 2.5 billion HUF on Booking.com for aggressive and misleading sales methods, followed by an additional fine of 382.5 million HUF in 2024 for failing to comply with commitments made in the original procedure and continuing some of the original infringing practices.

In the summer of 2023, the national competition authority also launched an expedited sector inquiry in response to numerous market signals. The GVH made several recommendations in the final report of this inquiry, including the necessity to eliminate price parity contract terms, which Booking.com subsequently removed effective July 1, 2024.