Swiss Watchdog Orders Booking.com to Lower Hotel Commissions

Swiss watchdog orders Booking.com to lower hotel commissions

Switzerland's price watchdog on Wednesday ordered travel platform Booking.com to lower its "abusively high" hotel commissions by almost one quarter.

The Booking.com travel portal has to reduce its hotel commissions in Switzerland by 25%. A competition authority criticizes the high commission rates. Booking.com plans to appeal against the decision. The hotel association Germany sees this as a positive signal for Europe.

The price monitor forces the world's largest hotel booking platform to lower its fees in Switzerland. This is a nuisance – because the competition is playing.

Booking.com has to reduce its commission rates for hotels in Switzerland by a quarter.

The fall of the commission will have to be implemented within three months and will be implemented for a period of three years, as the Federal Council has indicated during the weekly meeting of the highest executive body. The Swiss price supervisor contacted Booking, based in the Netherlands, to put an end to this “abuse practice”, but did not reach an agreement, despite the “intense efforts” of the OTA, as they claim from the reservation platfo…

Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, CEO of the Icelandic Travel Association, says it is common for booking agents in the tourism industry to charge up to 30% commission for their services.