China's State Administration for Market Regulation has imposed penalties totaling 5.18 billion yuan ($765 million) on Trip.com Group for abusing its dominant position in the online hotel booking market.
The regulator, which opened its investigation in January, found that Trip.com had restricted market competition through exclusive partnerships with hotels since 2020. The company classified hotels into tiers and required top-tier properties to enter exclusive cooperation agreements, while forcing others to offer the lowest prices across all platforms.
The penalty includes confiscation of 1.66 billion yuan in illegal gains and a fine of 3.52 billion yuan, calculated as 7.5% of Trip.com's 2025 domestic sales revenue. The company was also ordered to refund 122 million yuan in order reserves withheld from hotel operators.