Booking.com has been fined 413.24 million euros by the CNMC for abusing its dominant position in Spain over the last 5 years. This impacted hotels and competing online travel agencies, creating an unfair advantage for Booking.com and hindering market entry for other online agencies.

The practices of Booking.com, such as imposing clauses that favored its market position and lack of transparency in programs like Preferente, Preferente Plus, and Genius, limited the ability of Spanish hotels to compete and offer lower prices on other platforms, affecting their access to fair commercial conditions.

The CNMC's fine and imposed behavioral obligations on Booking.com highlight the importance for competition law advisors to understand the implications of such actions on businesses in the online travel industry, ensuring compliance with competition laws and fair market practices.

The article also discusses General Delivery Terms (GDT) in the online travel agency market, specifically mentioning clauses like narrow price parity, emphasizing the need for competition law advisors to grasp the impact of such terms on market dynamics and pricing strategies within the industry.