China fines Trip.com HK$6.14bn for antitrust violations

Trip.com has been fined HK$6.14 billion by Chinese regulators for imposing exclusive arrangements and unreasonable terms on business partners without just cause.

Chinese regulators noted that Trip.com, as the country's largest online travel platform, entered into exclusive cooperation agreements with certain hotels through traffic allocation mechanisms, platform rules, and technical measures to offer the lowest prices, according to Reuters.

In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), Trip.com disclosed that it had received an administrative penalty decision from the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China (SAMR). The decision was issued following an investigation under the anti‑monopoly law, notice of which the company had announced on 14 January.

The SAMR found that Trip.com had breached two provisions of the anti‑monopoly law, which bars dominant market players from restricting business partners via exclusive deals or imposing unreasonable terms without justifiable cause. 

The regulator ordered Trip.com to cease its violating practices and fully refund HK$132 million in hotel order security deposits that had been compulsorily deducted from hotel operators. It also confiscated HK$1.79 billion in illegal gains and imposed a fine of HK$3.8 billion, equivalent to 7.5% of the company's sales revenue generated from its China operations in 2025.

Trip.com said in the filing that it sincerely accepts the decision and will adopt rectification measures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to meet the requirements set out. The company has also pledged to strengthen its long‑term governance mechanisms and contribute to the sustainable development of the travel industry.

According to HK01 and HKET, Trip.com also announced a set of remediation measures covering five key areas with a total of 19 action items.

These include immediately ceasing exclusive cooperation practices and safeguarding hotel operators' right to autonomous operation; ending unreasonable "lowest price across all platforms" requirements and upholding hotel operators' right to independent pricing; protecting hotel operators' legitimate rights and interests by continuously listening to merchant feedback and optimising the business environment; strengthening consumer rights protection and improving service guarantee standards; and enhancing compliance development while establishing robust long‑term governance mechanisms.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Trip.com for a statement.

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