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WATCHDOG FINES BOOKING.COM OPERATOR HUF 383M FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

 

Hungary’s Competition Office (GVH) has fined the operator of booking.com 383 million forints (EUR 977,000) for failing to comply fully with the conditions in an earlier resolution. GVH noted that it had fined Booking.com B.V. 2.5 billion forints in the spring of 2020 for unfair business practices and ordered the company to cease putting „psychological pressure” on would-be clients. In a follow-up, GVH found that the company had continued to use the prohibited practices, informing customers that there were „few rooms available on the selected dates”, while replacing its „free cancellation” slogan with cheaper, but non-refundable offers that put Hungarian consumers at a disadvantage. GVH noted that the follow-up fine was the biggest it had every levied.