China’s leading online travel platform Trip.com has been whacked with US$781 million in penalties for abusing its dominant position in the market to restrict competition.
The penalties, handed down by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China, specifically relate to violations of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law with Trip.com found to have used traffic-allocation mechanisms, platform rules and technical measures to implement exclusive arrangements with hotels that allowed it to offer lower prices. This in effect prevented hotels from setting their own prices across multiple platforms.
In a filing, Trip.com – whose travel brands include Ctrip, Skyscanner and Qunar – said it had been found to have violated Article 22(4) and (5) of the Anti-Monopoly Law, which “prohibits a business operator that has a dominant market position from restricting business counterparties through exclusive arrangements without justifiable cause and from imposing unreasonable terms on transactions without justifiable cause.”
As such, the regulator has ordered Trip.com to cease violating acts and fully refund RMB122 million (US$18.0 million) in hotel order security deposits that were compulsorily deducted from hotel operators, has confiscated gains of RMB1.66 billion (US$244.4 million) from violating acts and has imposed a fine of RMB3.52 billion (US$518.9 million). The fine represents 7.5% of the company’s sales revenue generated from its operations in China in 2025.
Trip.com said, “The Company sincerely accepts the decision and will adopt rectification measures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to implement the decision’s requirements. The company will strengthen its long-term governance mechanisms and strive to contribute to the sustainable development of the travel industry.”
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