China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has imposed a substantial penalty on Trip.com Group, marking a significant enforcement action against the online travel platform sector. The regulator cited the company’s use of various mechanisms to secure exclusive arrangements with hotels and enforce pricing controls across its platform.
The total penalty package includes multiple components designed to address alleged anticompetitive conduct. SAMR confiscated 1.66 billion yuan in what it determined to be illegal gains, assessed a separate fine of 3.52 billion yuan equivalent to 7.5 percent of the company’s 2025 revenue from Mainland China operations, and required restitution of 122 million yuan in hotel security deposits.
According to the regulator’s findings, Trip.com Group employed traffic-allocation mechanisms and technical measures to enforce exclusive dealing arrangements while simultaneously pursuing “lowest price across the internet” requirements. These practices reportedly gave the platform advantages in maintaining its competitive position within the Chinese travel booking market.
This enforcement action represents the most substantial platform fine China has issued in recent years, following a comparable crackdown against Alibaba that resulted in a 2.6 billion dollar penalty in 2021. The case underscores continued regulatory attention to how major technology platforms leverage their market position through exclusive agreements, pricing controls, and operational rules that may restrict competition or disadvantage hotel partners and consumers.
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