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The travel giant has been accused of imposing unfair conditions on hotels in Spain
Spain’s competition watchdog, the Comisión Nacional de Los Mercados y La Competencia (CNMC), has launched an investigation into travel giant Booking.com after several complaints about anti-competitive behaviour were submitted by the Regional Hotel Association of Madrid and the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers.
The Dutch online portal is accused of abusing its dominant market position by imposing unfair trading conditions on Spanish hotels and excluding other online travel sites with its commercial policies.
The CNMC is also planning to examine whether Booking.com exploited the fact that so many hotels in Spain are dependent on the platform for reservations, which essentially would amount to "unfair competition acts affecting public interest due to the distortion of free competition they have produced,” according to the press release.
In response to the allegation, the travel giant released the following statement: "We have and will continue to partner with the CNMC on their questions regarding Booking.com Spain. Booking.com has always and will continue to work collaboratively with our accommodation partners in the travel ecosystem, which has only recently seen signs of recovery as we enter a further uncertain future with the global economic environment. We continue to work tirelessly to secure and deliver much needed demand for our accommodation partners, helping them fill their rooms every day."
The Spanish consumer watchdog now has 18 months to complete its investigation into Booking.com.
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