Booking.com Fined Over $447M By Spanish Regulator: Report
Booking.com Fined Over $447M By Spanish Regulator: Report
Travel technology firm Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been fined €413.2 million ($447.1 million) by Spain's competition regulator, CNMC.
旅行科技公司booking holdings（納斯達克：BKNG）被西班牙競爭監管機構CNMC罰款4.1312億歐元（4471萬美元）。
What Happened: The CNMC stated that, since early 2019, Booking.com imposed several unfair conditions on Spanish hotels using its platform, reported the Wall Street Journal.
事件經過：CNMC表示，自2019年初以來，Booking.com在其平台上對使用該平台的西班牙酒店施加了幾項不公平條件。據華爾街日報報道。
These conditions included prohibiting hotels from offering lower room prices than those listed on Booking.com, while the platform retained the right to reduce room prices unilaterally.
這些條件包括禁止酒店提供低於Booking.com所列房間價格的房間價格，而平台則保留單方面降低房間價格的權利。
Additionally, the regulator noted that the company required hotels to settle legal disputes under Dutch law, leading to higher litigation costs for Spanish hotels.
此外，監管機構指出，該公司要求酒店在荷蘭法律下解決法律糾紛，從而導致西班牙酒店的訴訟成本更高。
The investigation was initiated following complaints in 2021 by industry groups including the Spanish Association of Hotel Directors and the Hotel Business Association of Madrid.
這項調查是在2021年由行業組織，包括西班牙酒店主任協會和馬德里酒店業協會的投訴後啓動的。
Also Read: Booking Holdings Teams Up With Visa to Aid Diners
此外還閱讀：Booking Holdings與Visa合作幫助餐廳顧客
Why It Matters: The CNMC's ruling mandates several changes that Booking must implement to ensure fair competition in the market.
爲了確保市場公平競爭，CNMC的裁決要求Booking必須實施幾項變革。
With a market share between 70% and 90% in Spain, Booking was found to have restricted competition from other online travel agencies.
在西班牙市場佔有70%至90%的份額中，Booking被發現限制了其他在線旅遊平台的競爭。
The CNMC highlighted that the platform ranked hotels based on their bookings through Booking.com, thereby encouraging hotels to rely exclusively on its services for online bookings. This practice was deemed to stifle competition and limit consumer choices.
CNMC強調，該平台根據其在Booking.com上的預訂情況排名酒店，從而鼓勵酒店完全依賴其在線預訂服務。這種做法被認爲會扼殺競爭、限制消費者的選擇。
A spokesperson for Booking Holdings said, "We strongly disagree with the outcome of the CNMC investigation," emphasizing that the EU's Digital Market Act should address these issues on a broader European level rather than on a country-by-country basis.
Booking Holdings的發言人表示：“我們強烈不同意CNMC調查的結果，並強調歐盟數字市場法應該從歐洲更廣泛的層面上解決這些問題，而不是在國家層面上進行解決。
Price Action: BKNG shares closed higher by 0.91% at $3,720.99 on Tuesday.
價格波動：週二，BKNG股價上漲0.91%，收於3720.99美元。
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
免責聲明：本內容部分使用人工智能工具生成，並經Benzinga編輯審核發佈。
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