Hungary fines Booking.com anew for 'unfair' practices

Budapest: Online travel agency Booking.com was slapped with a second fine by Hungary's competition watchdog Monday for failing to cease its "unfair" business practices, including putting psychological pressure on customers.

In 2020, the Amsterdam-based firm was fined 2.5 billion forint ($7 million) by the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) for aggressive sales tactics.

On Monday, the authority hit Booking.com with an additional penalty of 382.5 million forint after a follow-up investigation showed the company had continued its unfair practices.

"Booking has not fully complied with its obligations to cease previous infringements," the watchdog said in a statement.

The body found the website was still exerting "psychological pressure" on consumers to book accommodation quickly.

It also pointed out that the travel agency put Hungarian users at a disadvantage by not offering them the same cheaper, non-cancellable alternatives on its listings.

Booking.com did "not admit to the violations" and only "stopped infringing" during the final stage of the probe, the watchdog said.

In a statement sent to AFP, the travel agency said it was "disappointed" with the findings, but vowed to provide "further clarity" to consumers.

Booking.com, whose parent company Booking Holdings is headquartered in the United States, is a dominant player with a market share in Europe of more than 60 percent.

In May, the European Union added the travel agency to its list of digital companies big enough to fall under tougher competition rules, giving the firm six months to prepare for compliance with the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The rules aim to level the playing field in the digital market, ensuring EU users have more options when choosing products.

Brussels said that tougher regulation of Booking.com would mean that holidaymakers would "start benefiting from more choice" and hotels would "have more business opportunities".