The GVH fined Booking almost HUF 400 million with a record fine

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 07. 15. 11:59

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Booking did not fully fulfill its obligations requiring the termination of previous infringements, it continued to use its illegal communication practices and psychological influence on consumers. The national competition authority fined the company HUF 382.5 million due to the discovered violations. This is the highest GVH fine of all time imposed in a subsequent investigation. The decision indicates that the GVH prioritizes protecting Hungarian families and the tourism industry, they wrote.

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In their statement sent to MTI on Monday, they highlight: the national competition authority initiated competition supervision proceedings against Booking.com B.V. in 2018. During the procedure, the GVH revealed that the company engaged in unfair commercial practices on several points: in its advertisements, it emphasized the “free cancellation” of accommodation, however, in the case of many accommodations, consumers could only use the option for a limited time, and they also paid a higher price than for the same for accommodation without “free cancellation”.

At the same time, Booking published urgent information, which overall gave the consumer the impression that the accommodation he was looking for is very popular and has limited availability, which can be considered an exercise of psychological pressure. In addition, the company did not act in accordance with the requirement of professional care when displaying the options related to the SZÉP card payment option.

GVH recalls: as a result of the violations confirmed by the court since then, the Competition Council of GVH fined the company HUF 2.5 billion in April 2020 and prohibited it from the practice established in the first two points, as well as obliged it to certify to the national competition authority that the violations have ceased.