Trip.com Fined Rp13.7 Trillion in China for Hotel Monopoly

Chinese authorities have fined and confiscated a total of 770 million US dollars, or around Rp13.7 trillion, from online travel platform Trip.com for abusing its dominant position in the domestic online hotel booking market. According to a report by Channel News Asia on Saturday (25/7) local time, regulators said Trip.com used traffic allocation mechanisms, platform rules, and technical measures to make exclusive agreements with several hotels in an effort to offer the lowest prices. Consequently, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) confiscated 1.66 billion yuan in illegal profits and imposed a fine of 3.52 billion yuan. SAMR also ordered Trip.com to return 122 million yuan in booking deposits that it had withheld from hotel operators. A Trip.com representative stated the company would reflect on the incident. “We sincerely accept and will fully comply, and will strictly follow the regulator’s requirements to systematically implement every corrective measure, ensuring that all steps are carried out effectively,” the company said. China launched the antitrust investigation in January following complaints that Trip.com had imposed unfair terms on hotels and manipulated prices. The punishment comes as Beijing seeks to curb unfair competition among internet platforms and excessive price wars, which authorities say have harmed businesses and fuelled deflationary pressure.