European Commission opens Booking.com investigation over fraud protections

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against Booking.com under the Digital Services Act, focusing on fraudulent accommodation offers, phishing and transparency around paid promotion.

The regulator will examine how the platform identifies listings for properties that do not exist, offers from people impersonating owners and other non-compliant accommodation. It will assess both risk analysis and action to remove such listings.

Another part of the inquiry concerns guest and reservation data. The Commission will examine information shared with accommodation providers and messaging systems that criminals may exploit to contact customers and demand payments.

It will also investigate offers ranked more prominently in exchange for higher commissions. The Commission says users should recognise these as advertising and be able to identify who placed and paid for them, why they were shown and how to adjust settings.

Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said platforms must meet their legal obligations to protect travellers from fraud. Booking.com told RTE it was cooperating and described safety and personal information protection as priorities.

RTE, citing EU officials, reported that a Dutch consumer complaint report recorded 1072 Booking.com fraud reports in the first half of 2026, with losses estimated at about 82 thousand euros. Officials said reports had increased tenfold compared with 2025.

If a breach is established, a fine could reach 6% of worldwide annual turnover. The proceedings have not established a violation.

Founded in Amsterdam in 1996, Booking.com is part of Booking Holdings and earns commissions by connecting travellers with accommodation providers. It stopped operating in Russia in March 2022.

European consumer protection authorities began work on the transparency of its offers in 2019. In December 2020, the Commission reported changes to how the platform displayed prices, discounts, advertising and remaining room availability.

Spain’s competition regulator fined Booking.com 413.24 million euros in July 2024 for abusing its dominant position, including restrictions on hotels’ pricing freedom. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed a 1.3 billion ruble fine in August 2021 over price parity requirements. Booking.com challenged that decision, but paid the fine in April 2022 after the courts upheld it.