Italy’s Antitrust and Competition Authority (AGCM) has opened a formal investigation into Booking.com, Europe’s largest online accommodation platform, after a series of dawn raids on the company’s Milan offices. Investigators suspect that the site’s “Preferred Partner” and “Preferred Partner Plus” badges—labels that give hotels premium placement in search results—are not awarded for guest-experience metrics, as advertised, but primarily for the size of the commission the property agrees to pay. Standard commissions on Booking.com average 15-18 percent; properties enrolled in the preferred tiers can pay 20 percent or more.
From AGCM’s perspective, that practice could amount to an abuse of dominant market position under Articles 101 and 102 of the EU Treaty. The Netherlands-based giant handles roughly one in every two online hotel reservations in Italy, meaning that a change in its algorithm can make or break the visibility of thousands of small and mid-sized Italian hotels. Trade associations Federalberghi and Confesercenti have long complained that the opaque programme forces independent hotels to buy their way into the ranking or risk sharp drops in occupancy.
![Italy’s Competition Authority Probes Booking.com for Alleged Search-Ranking Manipulation]()
Amid these uncertainties for travel buyers, VisaHQ can at least simplify another piece of the puzzle: getting people into the country. The company’s Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) lets corporate mobility managers and individual travelers apply for Italian visas online, track processing in real time, and tap dedicated support teams—freeing them to focus on cost controls and policy compliance while authorities sort out issues like the Booking.com probe.
If wrongdoing is proven, AGCM can levy fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover—potentially hundreds of millions of euro—and force Booking.com to redesign the way its ranking system works. The case also dovetails with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, which names Booking.com a “gatekeeper” platform and requires greater transparency on how search results are ordered. A parallel probe by the European Commission is considered likely.
For corporate mobility managers the stakes are high. Preferred-tier properties often dominate the top of search pages used by travel-booking tools integrated into company intranets, potentially inflating hotel costs by double-digit percentages. Until the case is resolved, procurement teams may wish to review negotiated rate programmes and monitor whether contracted hotels are paying to be listed more prominently—an expense that could be passed on through higher nightly rates. AGCM expects to conclude its fact-finding phase by late August; provisional measures—including possible suspension of the badges—could come sooner if the authority determines there is an immediate threat to market competition.
From AGCM’s perspective, that practice could amount to an abuse of dominant market position under Articles 101 and 102 of the EU Treaty. The Netherlands-based giant handles roughly one in every two online hotel reservations in Italy, meaning that a change in its algorithm can make or break the visibility of thousands of small and mid-sized Italian hotels. Trade associations Federalberghi and Confesercenti have long complained that the opaque programme forces independent hotels to buy their way into the ranking or risk sharp drops in occupancy.
Amid these uncertainties for travel buyers, VisaHQ can at least simplify another piece of the puzzle: getting people into the country. The company’s Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) lets corporate mobility managers and individual travelers apply for Italian visas online, track processing in real time, and tap dedicated support teams—freeing them to focus on cost controls and policy compliance while authorities sort out issues like the Booking.com probe.
If wrongdoing is proven, AGCM can levy fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover—potentially hundreds of millions of euro—and force Booking.com to redesign the way its ranking system works. The case also dovetails with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, which names Booking.com a “gatekeeper” platform and requires greater transparency on how search results are ordered. A parallel probe by the European Commission is considered likely.
For corporate mobility managers the stakes are high. Preferred-tier properties often dominate the top of search pages used by travel-booking tools integrated into company intranets, potentially inflating hotel costs by double-digit percentages. Until the case is resolved, procurement teams may wish to review negotiated rate programmes and monitor whether contracted hotels are paying to be listed more prominently—an expense that could be passed on through higher nightly rates. AGCM expects to conclude its fact-finding phase by late August; provisional measures—including possible suspension of the badges—could come sooner if the authority determines there is an immediate threat to market competition.
