China Slaps Trip.com Group with $765 Million Penalty Over Monopolistic Conduct

Chinese antitrust authorities have hit Trip.com Group with nearly 5.2 billion yuan ($765 million) in fines and disgorged profits following an extensive regulatory investigation into monopolistic conduct across its booking platforms.

The penalty issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation combines a fine exceeding 3.5 billion yuan ($520 million) with the confiscation of more than 1.6 billion yuan ($245 million) in illegal gains. The enterprise—which operates global travel brands including Ctrip and Skyscanner—was also ordered to return roughly 122 million yuan ($18 million) in improperly withheld funds to impacted hotel operators.

Regulators determined that Trip.com Group had leveraged its dominant standing in the sector since at least 2020 to undermine fair market competition. Enforcement officials found that the platform prioritized traffic allocation for hotels entering into exclusive agreements while simultaneously barring those partners from listing rooms on competing booking engines.

The platform also enforced strict price parity mandates on hotel operators listed across multiple sites, forcing property owners to guarantee that rates offered on Trip.com were the lowest available online. Officials concluded that these demands stripped hospitality businesses of their pricing autonomy and directly harmed consumer interests.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Trip.com Group confirmed it accepted the decision and would fully implement all required rectification measures across its business units.

The enforcement action aligns with broader oversight enforcement under China’s Anti-Monopoly Law, which targets exclusive dealing arrangements and restrictive vendor terms across platform ecosystems, mirroring parallel regulatory scrutiny against online travel agencies in European markets.