The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has once again launched competition supervision proceedings against Dutch travel tech giant Booking.com BV, citing concerns over potential consumer deception and breaches of professional diligence requirements. This marks yet another chapter in the regulator’s ongoing oversight of the platform, which has already incurred billions of forints in fines in recent years.
According to the GVH, the latest proceedings were triggered by suspicions that Booking provided misleading information about certain service fees and inaccurately represented discount levels within its Genius loyalty program. The authority alleges that from at least January 1, 2022, these practices may have distorted Hungarian consumers’ transactional decisions, potentially resulting in unnecessary or hidden costs.
The competition watchdog found that Booking’s platform may not offer consistent pricing across devices and formats—such as mobile applications and desktop websites—even when the services themselves are identical. This inconsistency, the GVH argues, undermines the reliability and predictability expected from a market-leading service provider. Additionally, the Genius program’s multi-level discount system may have been advertised in a way that exaggerates or misrepresents the actual benefits available to users.
GVH emphasized that the initiation of proceedings does not imply a finding of infringement. The investigation aims to determine whether the alleged practices indeed constitute violations of Hungarian competition law. The standard timeframe for such proceedings is three months, extendable twice for up to two months each, subject to justification. Notably, the clock pauses during periods when the authority awaits necessary data from the investigated party.
Booking.com, a subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc., remains a dominant player in both the European and Hungarian accommodation booking markets. Its platform receives over 500 million visits monthly during peak travel seasons, facilitating reservations across millions of properties worldwide.
This is not the first time Booking has come under fire from the GVH. In 2020, the company was fined HUF 2.5 billion(USD 7.04 million) for what the authority described as “aggressive and misleading” sales tactics. A further HUF 382.5 million (USD 1.08 million) fine followed in 2024 after Booking allegedly failed to fully comply with earlier commitments and continue some of the infringing practices.
In response to growing concerns within the sector, the GVH launched an accelerated market investigation in the summer of 2023. The final report, published earlier this year, recommended the elimination of so-called “price parity” clauses—contract terms that prevent hotels from offering lower prices on other platforms or directly to consumers. Booking.com complied and officially ceased the application of these clauses as of July 1, 2024.
The current investigation has been formally registered under case number VJ/30/2025. As the holiday season peaks, the GVH continues to monitor the online accommodation market closely, signalling heightened regulatory vigilance in a sector crucial to consumer welfare and digital commerce transparency.
