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

Nyomásgyakorlásra alkalmas
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.
Related news
Competition Authority proceedings have been launched against Decathlon’s Hungarian subsidiary
According to the GVH, the sports store chain offers misleading…
Read more >Uber is charging below the official price
Uber returned to Budapest a year ago – and not…
Read more >GVH President: The development of Hungarian language models is a matter of national sovereignty
Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH),…
Read more >Related news
Smart Organic acquires the LoveRaw brand
Bulgarian company Smart Organic has acquired the British vegan brand…
Read more >Spanish Food E-Commerce Market Set To Recover In 2025
The Spanish e-commerce market for food and hygiene products is…
Read more >Less meat, same taste: Lidl mixes minced beef with plant-based proteins
Lidl is launching “hybrid” meat in Belgium: minced meat that…
Read more >