The Swiss Price Supervisor has ordered Booking.com to slash commission rates for Swiss hotels by approximately 25%, ruling that the current rates are “excessive.”
Booking.com will have to implement the changes within three months after the ruling becomes final. The ruling will apply for three years.
The Swiss Price Supervisor—an independent federal authority operating under Switzerland's Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research—said the move improves the ability to compete.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
“The measure aims to strengthen the competitiveness of Swiss hotels in a tough global market and indirectly to reduce the financial burden on customers,” the regulator said.
Its analyses were conducted under the Price Supervision Act, which requires the price supervisor to “prevent or remedy excessive prices that are not the result of effective competition.”
The price supervisor said the ruling was “necessary,” as the parties were unable to reach an agreement after “intensive negotiations.” Booking.com has the right to appeal within 30 days of notification.
In an emailed statement to PhocusWire, a Booking.com spokesperson confirmed that the OTA plans to appeal.
“Our accommodation partners have a multitude of ways to market their properties to customers, so it’s a choice if they want to list on our platform or somewhere else. We do not agree with forcibly reducing the cost of a product that is entirely optional. We will appeal,” the spokesperson said.
Booking.com has recently faced pressure from other regulators, including the European Commission. In May 2024, the commission designated the online travel agency (OTA) as an online gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act. By November, Booking.com said it had enacted changes to comply with the requirements of the regulation, including the removal of parity requirements.
Last July, Booking.com was also hit with a €413.24 million fine from regulators in Spain after it was alleged that the OTA abused “its dominant position over the past five years” by “imposing unfair commercial conditions” on Spanish hotels and “restricting competition” from other OTAs.