Russian Regulator Alleges Booking.com Broke Anti-Monopoly Law

Russia's federal anti-monopoly service (FAS) has accused Booking.com of reportedly violating antitrust laws in the country and abusing a dominant market position, according to Reuters Monday (Dec. 21).

FAS opened an investigation into Booking's move asking hotels and hostels to offer the same prices on their own sites and rival booking sites as they did on Booking.com.

Under Russia's anti-monopoly law, the company could face a fine of around 1 percent to 15 percent of its annual revenue generated in the country.

Booking was "disappointed" in the actions being taken, according to Reuters, saying it planned to continue being a good neighbor to partners in Russia and securing demand for services needed for the sector's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been brutal for the Russian hospitality industry. Like elsewhere in the world, the country has had to suffer travel restrictions and lockdowns as they attempted to curb the virus's spread.

Booking was also subjected to an investigation by the EU last year and ended up agreeing to change selling practices, including ending time limits for offers and claiming a room is the last one it has available. The European Commission called those behaviors "manipulative" and said the EU had been working with the company to make the changes.

While Booking complied with the order, it issued a statement saying the company "believes in clear legislation and standards that apply to everyone in the industry, in order to create a level playing field and consistent standards for consumers,” according to PYMNTS.

In another clash between Booking and the EU, Booking bucked back against the EU's recent plan to regulate the site as a gatekeeper in its recent crackdown on big tech. Booking CEO Glenn Fogel said his company was "one of the very, very, very few tech successes in Europe. Let’s be obvious and blatant about this. And our government regulator wants to handcuff us,” and claimed the new rules would give more advantages to foreign competitors.