Following years of complaints from both platform users and merchants, regulators have finally taken action against the "dominant player" in online travel, Trip.com Group.
On the afternoon of January 14, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that, based on preliminary reviews and in accordance with the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, it has initiated an investigation into Trip.com Group for suspected abuse of market dominance to implement monopolistic practices.
A mere hour later, Trip.com Group officially issued an announcement stating it would actively cooperate with the regulatory investigation, fully implement regulatory requirements, and work with industry participants to jointly build a sustainable market environment.
For years, platform users and merchants have suffered under Trip.com's practices, with past incidents including users mass-uninstalling the app to boycott big data-based price discrimination and the Yunnan Tourism Homestay Association publishing statements to defend their rights.
Trip.com Group is the undisputed "dominant player" in online travel, with the fortunes of many tourism industry merchants effectively held in its grasp.
According to estimates by Bank of Communications International, based on GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) in 2024, Trip.com held a 56% share of the hotel and travel market GMV. Combined with Tongcheng Travel's 13%, the Trip.com alliance commands a 70% share of the OTA market.
Within the hotel and travel sector, the Trip.com alliance (comprising Trip.com, Qunar, and Tongcheng Travel) has been reaping substantial profits.
Data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism shows that in the first three quarters of 2025, domestic tourist trips reached 4.998 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.0%, while per capita spending was 970 yuan, down 5.5% year-on-year.
In stark contrast, however, Trip.com Group reported revenue of 18.3 billion yuan for the third quarter of 2025, a 16% increase year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 19.9 billion yuan, surging 192.6% year-on-year.
What does a net profit of 19.9 billion yuan signify? It equates to Trip.com earning a staggering 216 million yuan per day effortlessly, with a remarkably high net profit margin of 32%, far exceeding that of many internet peers renowned for their profitability.
Trip.com's third-quarter profit was even 700 million yuan higher than that of Kweichow Moutai and significantly surpassed that of internet giants like JD.com, Xiaomi, Meituan, and Baidu.
Against the backdrop of a downturn in the tourism industry and struggles for profitability among hotels and airlines, Trip.com's immense profits are largely attributed to its monopolistic position, leveraging its vast market influence to squeeze the survival space of other platforms and merchants.
It is no wonder that James Liang, Chairman of Trip.com Group, stated years ago, "You couldn't find Trip.com's competitors even with a high-powered telescope."
This immense influence has also made Trip.com's senior executives frequent guests of honor for local government officials.
On May 25 last year, Yin Hong, Secretary of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, met with a delegation led by Trip.com Group Chairman James Liang in Nanchang.
Yin Hong expressed gratitude for the support Trip.com Group has provided to Jiangxi's development, stating, "We hope Trip.com will deepen cooperation in areas such as attracting visitors to Jiangxi, creating new business formats, brand promotion, hotel accommodations, and data sharing, increase efforts in developing and promoting Jiangxi's tourism products, and attract more domestic and international tourists to visit Jiangxi."
On October 16, Fan Shaojun, Member of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Secretary of the Haikou Municipal Party Committee, met with a delegation led by Wang Wei, Senior Vice President of Trip.com Group. He expressed hope for further deepening practical cooperation in areas like building distinctive cultural tourism event brands, enriching the supply of high-quality international performances, and expanding the tourism market.
On October 22, Hu Zhongxiong, Member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Secretary of the Guiyang Municipal Party Committee, met with a delegation led by Zhang Xu, Vice President of Trip.com Group and General Manager of Destination Cooperation, to discuss deepening collaboration.
On December 16, Xu Qin, Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, met with a delegation led by Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, in Harbin. He stated, "We hope Trip.com Group will leverage its brand and platform advantages, combined with Heilongjiang's unique cultural tourism resources, to deepen exchanges and cooperation in business format innovation, scenario development, and service optimization."
Trip.com's influence extends beyond China; it is also significant in major tourist destinations like Thailand.
On March 6 last year, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, then Prime Minister of Thailand, met with Sun Bo, CMO of Trip.com Group, in Berlin.
For many provinces reliant on tourism, Trip.com's importance is self-evident, which also underscores its control and influence over the entire tourism market.
This immense market power has stripped merchants of their bargaining power against Trip.com, with many hotels, homestays, and especially small and medium-sized merchants essentially "working for" the platform.
Trip.com employs a tool called the "Price Adjustment Assistant," an automated pricing tool designed to optimize pricing strategies based on market supply and demand through dynamic price comparisons, ostensibly to help hotels adapt to market prices. However, to compete with other platforms, Trip.com has been found to modify merchant prices without authorization.
In July last year, multiple hotel merchants in Zhengzhou reported that their room prices listed on the Trip.com platform were altered without their consent. The platform required merchants to enable the "Price Adjustment Assistant" tool, which then technically modified room prices and adjusted promotional discounts without merchant approval.
Furthermore, managers from several hotels in Wuhan confirmed that Trip.com monitors their pricing on other platforms. Upon discovering price discrepancies, it automatically lowers the hotel's prices on its own platform using the "Price Adjustment Assistant," without notifying the merchants throughout the process.
The "Price Adjustment Assistant" effectively剥夺了商家的定价权, forcing them into price wars and eroding their profits. This runs counter to the nationwide push in recent years to "combat involution."
Beyond unauthorized price adjustments, "pick-one-of-two" requirements are another common tactic Trip.com uses to coerce merchants, similar to many other internet platforms.
On December 8 last year, the Yunnan Tourism Homestay Association published a statement alleging that Trip.com, leveraging its market dominance, had engaged in a series of unfair competition practices against the Yunnan homestay industry, including enforcing "pick-one-of-two" demands.
Prior to this, on August 5, the Guizhou Provincial Market Supervision Administration collectively summoned and admonished five platforms, including Trip.com, Tongcheng Travel, Meituan, and Fliggy. The admonishment directly addressed potential issues such as "pick-one-of-two" practices, using technical means to interfere with merchant pricing, price fraud, and abuse of market dominance.
On September 17, the Zhengzhou Market Supervision Administration conducted an administrative interview with Trip.com based on the law, investigating and identifying issues where the company used "service agreements, transaction rules, and technical means" to impose unreasonable restrictions on transactions and transaction prices of merchants on its platform.
From the perspective of Yijian Caijing, this立案调查 against Trip.com represents a timely correction by the state regarding the platform economy, coming three years after previous major regulatory actions.
Over the past three years, the state has highly prioritized the development of private enterprises, and regulation of the platform economy has been relatively relaxed compared to earlier periods. However, in the last two years, certain internet platforms have used their traffic dominance to squeeze merchants and platform workers.
The Central Economic Work Conference held last December notably called for the first time to "promote win-win development for platform enterprises, merchants on platforms, and workers."
Tracing the policy evolution from "supporting platform enterprises to play a significant role" in 2022, to "strengthening regulation to promote healthy development" in 2024, and now to "promoting win-win development" in 2025, the policy trajectory has become increasingly clear.
This new formulation is clearly targeted.
In recent years, frequent issues have arisen between platforms and merchants, including high commission fees, non-transparent抽成, and "pick-one-of-two" demands, trapping small and medium-sized merchants in a dilemma where "not joining means no customer traffic, but joining makes profitability difficult."
Official media commentary has stated that this vicious cycle of "platforms burning cash, merchants operating on thin profits, and workers bearing heavy burdens" not only erodes the foundation of the industry's ecosystem but also affects consumers' sense of experience and security, severely constraining the sustainable development of the platform economy.
Clearly, the立案调查 into Trip.com not only responds to the appeals of small and medium-sized merchants but also serves as a warning to other internet platforms.
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