Press Release: Antitrust: Commission announces the launch of market tests in investigations in the online hotel booking sector by the French, Swedish and Italian competition authorities

The European Commission announced on the 15 December 2014 the launch of market tests in antitrust investigations by the French, Swedish and Italian competition authorities in the online hotel booking sector. The three national competition authorities had concerns that so-called “parity clauses” in contracts between online travel agent Booking.com and hotels might have anti-competitive effects, in breach of EU and national antitrust rules. Booking.com had proposed commitments to remedy these concerns, which - if the market tests confirmed their adequacy - the national competition authorities could make legally binding on Booking.com. The Commission was coordinating the national investigations but did not opened its own investigation.