Following the publication of the new European Union Digital Markets Directive, the tourist accommodation platform Booking.com has indicated that it will update its contracts in the EU and eliminate parity clauses. These conditions did not allow accommodations to publish lower prices on their own websites than those offered through booking.com.
This directive began to be implemented last summer when the European Union designated six technology companies as "gatekeepers" due to their dominant market position: Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and ByteDance.
These are companies with at least 45 million active users and a capitalization of 750,000 million euros. Once a company is designated as a "gatekeeper," it has six months to demonstrate that it adapts to the new regulations.
In May, Booking.com also became part of this group of companies, and the so-called parity clauses are not compatible with its new designation.
These price parity clauses were established by Booking to guarantee an economic margin as an alternative sales channel. With them, a hotel that published places on Booking was obliged not to market rates on its direct sales channel below those of Booking.
Initially, it was a deal that benefited both parties, but with the arrival of the Great Recession and price cuts, Booking's market share accelerated to reach more than 70% of all digital platforms.
