Four Platforms Face Investigations
The four companies named by regulators are active in China's travel and accommodation market. Hangzhou Taomei Aviation Service is an Alibaba unit linked to Fliggy, Beijing Sankuai Information Technology to Meituan, Tongcheng Network Technology to Tongcheng Travel and Tujia Online Information Technology (Tianjin) to Tujia. The cases were opened under China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law and E-Commerce Law following preliminary checks and guidance from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). Regulators have not detailed the allegations, so the cases do not by themselves show that any of the companies broke the law.
All four companies have said they will cooperate with the authorities. Meituan’s hotel and travel business said it would work with regulators, while Tongcheng, Tujia and Fliggy also said they would comply with the requirements. Tongcheng and Tujia said their operations remain normal.
Scrutiny Broadens Across Online Travel
The latest cases come after a September 15 meeting between the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and online hotel booking platforms. Regulators asked platforms to strengthen compliance, conduct self-examinations and address competition risks, including practices involving exclusive cooperation and “lowest price across the internet” arrangements. They also urged companies to comply with China’s Anti-Monopoly Law, Anti-Unfair Competition Law, E-Commerce Law and Tourism Law.
The China Hotel Association has called for greater transparency in platform trading rules, including search rankings, traffic allocation, commission rates and promotional programmes.
Trip.com Penalty Sets the Context
The latest investigations come after regulators imposed a 5.179 billion yuan penalty on Trip.com in July. The punishment included a 3.521 billion yuan fine and the confiscation of 1.658 billion yuan in illegal gains after regulators found the company had abused its dominant market position. Trip.com was also ordered to return about 122 million yuan in hotel booking deposits withheld from hotel operators. Regulators described the July action as China's first antitrust case in the online hotel-booking sector, underscoring the scale of scrutiny now facing the industry.
What Comes Next
No findings or penalties have been announced in the four cases. Regulators will need to complete their investigations before deciding whether any of the platforms breached competition or e-commerce rules. The outcome will show whether the cases lead to fines or changes to how the companies operate.
The investigations come as Chinese authorities examine how online travel platforms deal with hotels and other merchants. Any new requirements could affect areas such as pricing arrangements, platform rules and commercial relationships, but the extent of those changes is not yet clear.