Airbnb Caught in Contradiction Over EU’s Digital Markets Act

On March 19, Airbnb found itself in an unusual position—simultaneously criticizing and praising the EU’s landmark online antitrust law, the Digital Markets Act (DMA). According to Euractiv, the short-term rental giant expressed opposing views through different lobbying groups to which it belongs.

Airbnb, alongside European travel platforms such as eDreams, Booking.com, and Skyscanner, is engaged in an antitrust battle against Google. The companies, through their European lobbying group ‘eu travel tech,’ allege that Google unfairly prioritizes its own services—including short-term rentals, flights, trains, and hotel bookings—at the expense of competitors.

However, Airbnb’s stance on the DMA varies depending on the lobbying organization speaking on its behalf. Per Euractiv, through its membership with the US-based Chamber of Progress, Airbnb strongly criticized the DMA in a letter signed by the lobby’s CEO, Adam Kovacevich, and addressed to US Congressman Jim Jordan. The letter, seen by Euractiv, claimed that the law unfairly targets American firms by compelling them to share innovations with rivals without compensation. It also warned that the DMA’s enforcement could result in “degraded services, unsafe apps, and services that launch late or not at all” in Europe.

Conversely, through its European lobbying efforts with ‘eu travel tech,’ Airbnb welcomed the European Commission’s preliminary findings on Google’s alleged non-compliance with the DMA. Per Euractiv, this group accused Google’s parent company, Alphabet, of continuing to engage in unfair practices that harm competitors like Airbnb. The letter from ‘eu travel tech’ argued that Google’s portrayal of DMA compliance as inherently detrimental was misleading, emphasizing that there are “many other ways” to comply without reducing service quality.

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The two positions expose a stark contradiction. While the Chamber of Progress claimed that the DMA is being enforced to “unfairly exploit American innovation,” the ‘eu travel tech’ letter insisted that the law helps open closed systems and curbs Google’s self-preferencing. The divergence extends to their views on the European Commission’s role—while the US-based lobbying group urged Congress not to support the Commission’s actions, the European lobby “commended” the Commission for its enforcement of the DMA and its willingness to engage in constructive discussions.

The debate over the DMA’s impact continues to unfold. German MEP Alexandra Geese, speaking at a Brussels event on March 19, emphasized that “tech sovereignty does not mean closing out, it means opening up markets.” Airbnb’s conflicting positions suggest that while it may benefit from the DMA’s constraints on Google, it also aligns with broader US industry concerns about regulatory overreach in Europe. The company appears to be straddling two narratives—one that portrays the DMA as a tool for fair competition and another that warns of its potential to create a “digital curtain around Europe” that harms consumers, as stated in the Chamber of Progress letter.

Source: Euractiv