Newsroom
You have picked the hotel, checked the photos, and worked out what the holiday will cost. But is the listing genuine, can you trust a message asking for payment, and is that hotel recommendation actually an advertisement?
Those are among the issues behind a formal European Commission investigation into Booking.com, examining whether the accommodation platform has met its obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
For travelers in Cyprus arranging a weekend in Athens, a family holiday, or a work trip, the concerns are practical: knowing that the accommodation exists, that payment requests are legitimate, and that paid promotions are clearly identified.
The investigation will assess possible breaches. Its launch does not mean the company has been found to have broken the rules.
Booking.com says it is cooperating
Speaking at a press briefing, Alessandro Callari, Booking.com’s regional director for Italy, Greece and the Southern Mediterranean, described the investigation as “a very recent development.”
He said the information the company had received concerned specific cybersecurity and fraud issues, adding that Booking.com was cooperating with the authorities and providing the information they needed.
“We are available to show them everything we do on a daily basis to protect both our partners and our systems,” he said.
Fake websites, real money
One problem described by the company involves websites that imitate Booking.com, persuading travelers to pay for accommodation without making an actual reservation.
Booking.com says it continually identifies these sites and asks providers such as Google to remove them. But they reappear, making it difficult to stop the fraud permanently.
For someone saving up for a holiday, the potential damage goes beyond losing a payment. It could also mean discovering that the room they thought they had secured was never booked.
The Commission’s inquiry also covers fraudulent electronic messages and whether accommodation promoted for a fee is clearly labeled as advertising. That distinction helps travelers understand whether a property is being highlighted as a paid placement.
Greek accommodation providers put payment fraud first
Figures presented at the briefing suggest fraud is also a major concern for businesses welcoming guests.
In Booking.com’s annual Greece Hospitality Barometer survey, 69% of Greek accommodation providers working with the platform identified payment fraud as their main concern over the previous 12 months.
At the same time, 65% considered themselves adequately prepared for cybersecurity threats, while 91% said they used secure payment procedures.
Those findings concern Greece, rather than Cyprus, but offer a picture of the pressures facing accommodation businesses in a nearby tourism market.
A separate fight over room prices
Booking.com is also facing legal claims over rules that restricted accommodation providers from offering cheaper rates through other booking services or their own websites.
Hotels and industry associations are seeking compensation for losses they say those restrictions caused.
For travelers comparing prices, the issue is straightforward: whether a hotel was free to offer a better deal elsewhere, including to customers booking directly.
Booking.com disputes how a European Court of Justice ruling on the clauses has been interpreted. Its position is that the court required the restrictions to be assessed individually under competition law and did not decide the compensation claims themselves.
According to Callari, about 3,000 partners have submitted claims out of 2.3 million across Europe. The proceedings remain ongoing and are expected to take considerable time.
The fraud investigation and the pricing dispute are separate matters. Both, however, touch on what travelers want when booking a room: a genuine reservation, a clear price, and enough information to know what they are paying for.
