Booking.com will now have to comply with stricter regulations in the EU. The platform has been classified by the EU Commission as a "Gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and now has six months to follow all the new requirements.

The Digital Markets Act: for Equal and Open Digital Markets.

European hoteliers continue to suffer from business practices and disruptions from Booking that significantly limit their success and effectiveness. For example, Booking Holdings is trying to stop hoteliers from offering better prices through their own distribution channels, and isn’t sharing the full data collected from hotel listings on the platform with hotels. These are just two of the issues that may finally be resolved with Booking's designation as a gatekeeper.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) tries to prevent large digital platforms from dominating online markets, ensuring fairness on these websites. Gatekeepers are, for example, online services with a certain number of EU users and business customers.

The recent classification by the European Commission marks a significant turning point for the hotel industry.

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<div class="article_quote"><div class="article_quote_contain"><div class="article_quote_quote">"After a decade of struggle between European hotels and Booking, the DMA can now become a real game changer."</div><div class="article_quote_name u-text-style-main">Alexandros Vassilikos, President of HOTREC (European Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés)</div></div></div>

What Does This Mean Exactly for Hotels?

Until now, hotels have struggled to compete with the powerful algorithms and market presence of platforms like Booking. This change creates new opportunities for hotels to drive direct bookings and reduce their dependance on third-party platforms and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies).

The key changes at a glance:

• Further easing of Best Price Clauses
  Booking might be obligated to eliminate the strict Best Price Clauses in Europe that previously ensured the platform received the best rates from listed hotels. The potential relaxation of these clauses will allow hotels to actively handle their prices, make direct bookings more appealing and thereby increase their market share.
  
• Enable direct bookings through hotels' distribution channels
  The online booking platform has to allow hotels to offer direct bookings and can not prevent users from contacting companies and hotels directly outside the platform.
  
• Allow commercial users to access generated data
  Booking must also ensure that hotels have access to the data generated when users search for hotels on the platform. This is especially significant for digital marketing.
  
  This situation underscores the need for effective online marketing for hotels to increase their online visibility and search engine presence. That way, they can strengthen their own distribution channels.

<div class="article_quote"><div class="article_quote_contain"><div class="article_quote_quote">"The good news today is: Travelers will benefit from more choice and hotels will have more business opportunities."</div><div class="article_quote_name u-text-style-main">Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Competition</div></div></div>

Why Is Good Online Marketing Now More Important Than Ever For Hotels?

• Although some European countries, such as Germany, already have price parity bans in place, they have not resulted in a significant shift of market share to online travel agencies such as Booking. One reason for that is Booking's high ranking in search engines and the dependence of many smaller hotels on the platform, which often do not have their own online marketing strategies.
  
  Strengthening direct distribution has a lot of benefits:
  
• Cost reduction:
  Direct bookings eliminate the commission fees hotels normally have to pay to online travel agencies.
  
• Customer relationship:
  Direct contact with guests allows for more personalized communication and better analysis of generated data.
  
• Price control:
  Hotels can respond more flexibly to market changes and make independent price adjustments.