Booking.com Designated as ‘Online Gatekeeper’ by EU Commission under Digital Markets Act

Following its addition to the European Union’s list of companies subject to increased digital scrutiny, Booking Holdings, the parent company of popular travel booking website Booking.com, has been designated an “online gatekeeper” by the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission. This classification applies specifically to Booking.com, which meets the criteria outlined in the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a recently implemented regulation aimed at preventing dominant technology platforms from controlling online markets. The DMA requires gatekeepers to adhere to a set of guidelines, such as refraining from favoring their own services over competitors, or face significant fines or potential dismantlement of their businesses. Since the DMA came into force earlier this year, several notable companies, including Apple, Google, and Facebook parent company Meta, have already been categorized as gatekeepers and are currently being investigated to determine if they are complying with the required measures. Although Booking Holdings’ subsidiaries Cheapflights, Kayak.com, and Priceline are excluded from this designation, the company intends to cooperate with the European Commission as it develops strategies to meet the requirements imposed by the DMA. The European Commission predicts that the DMA will provide greater options and liberty for customers while also ensuring that smaller enterprises can access these platforms equally. Booking Holdings has stated that it has been collaborating with the European Commission for some time in anticipation of this decision and will continue to work constructively with them throughout the compliance process. The Commission has specified that Booking.com has six months to conform with the necessary provisions of the DMA, providing end-users with more choices and enabling business users to access the promised services without restriction.