China ordered a fine and asset seizure totaling 26 billion baht against Trip.com, a major online hotel booking platform owner, for monopolizing the market and impacting competition and consumers.
On Saturday, 25 Jul 2026 GMT+7, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced it fined and seized assets of Trip.com Group totaling 5.2 billion yuan (about 26 billion baht) for abusing its market power unfairly in the domestic online hotel booking business.
SAMR stated that Trip.com, China’s largest online travel platform, used allocation of traffic, platform rules, and technical measures to impose exclusive agreements with certain hotels, aiming to offer the lowest prices.
SAMR confiscated illegally obtained revenues from Trip.com amounting to 1.66 billion yuan and imposed an additional fine of 3.52 billion yuan.
Trip.com, owner of famous travel brands such as Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar, acknowledged the ruling, stating: “We accept and are fully prepared to comply with the decision, strictly following regulatory requirements to systematically improve all aspects and ensure all measures are effectively implemented.”
Additionally, SAMR ordered Trip.com to refund 122 million yuan in booking deposits that the company had withheld from hotel operators.
SAMR said in a statement on its website that such conduct harmed competition and consumers by restricting hotels’ ability to operate across platforms and set their own prices.
China began investigating trade monopolies in January after receiving complaints that Trip.com imposed unfair terms on hotels and interfered with pricing.
This penalty comes as Beijing accelerates efforts to regulate unfair competition among internet platforms, including excessive price wars seen as harmful to businesses and exacerbating domestic deflationary pressures.
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Source:cna