By Mauro Orru
Italy's competition watchdog launched an investigation into Booking.com, saying the online travel company might be misleading users into believing that accommodation providers who pay higher fees for greater visibility offer better value for money than others.
Booking.com, part of Booking Holdings, has a so-called preferred partner program that gives accommodation providers who meet certain eligibility criteria improved visibility in search results and a special thumbs-up seal of approval on their property page in return for a small increase in commission, according to the company's website.
Booking.com also offers a premium tier of that program known as preferred plus that gives eligible providers increased visibility by investing additional commission, with the website stating that this could lead to 30% more bookings on average compared to providers on the standard tier.
The Italian Competition Authority, or AGCM, said the selection of providers under the program appears to be largely driven by criteria that favor those paying higher commissions rather than the quality of what they offer.
Antitrust officials said the way providers in the program are presented on the company's platform, combined with claims by Booking.com highlighting their quality, might mislead users into booking more expensive accommodation.
Booking.com didn't respond to a request for comment.
The Italian Competition Authority said it had conducted inspections at the premises of Booking.com in Italy, with assistance from the special antitrust unit of the Italian financial police.
The announcement comes more than a year after the Italian Competition Authority closed an investigation into alleged market abuse by Booking.com after the company offered to make changes that addressed officials' competition concerns.
Officials said in March 2024 that Booking.com was applying discounts on its own platform when it saw that a hotel was offering a better price elsewhere, thus adjusting prices without permission from hotels.
Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2026 05:13 ET (09:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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