China Hotel Association Backs Probe into Four Online Booking Platforms, Calls for Rule Transparency
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
- Automatically published source-backed update
On September 19, the China Hotel Association released an initiative calling for fair competition in the accommodation and catering industry, following an administrative guidance meeting held by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has launched investigations into four major online hotel and travel booking platforms as part of SAMR's work arrangements. The China Hotel Association actively supports these efforts. The association stated that some platforms use traffic and algorithmic advantages to inflate hidden costs through high commissions, mandatory bundling, opaque data practices, and low-price customer acquisition tactics, undermining competitive order and harming business interests. It also noted that phenomena such as 'multiple stores at one address' and 'ghost kitchens' negatively impact food safety and consumer experience. The initiative calls for greater transparency in platform rules and algorithms, including disclosure of search ranking mechanisms, traffic allocation, commission rates, and promotional activities to safeguard operators' rights.
Source report
Jin10 Data, September 19 — The China Hotel Association has released the Initiative on Regulating Platform Competition and Building a Healthy Ecosystem for the Accommodation and Catering Industry.
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, held an administrative guidance meeting for the online hotel and travel booking platform service industry. Following SAMR's work arrangements, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has launched investigations into four major online hotel and travel booking platforms. The China Hotel Association actively supports these efforts and promotes their implementation.
Key Issues Identified
Currently, some platforms leverage their traffic and algorithmic advantages to inflate hidden costs through the following practices:
- High commissions
- Mandatory bundling
- Opaque data practices
- Low-price customer acquisition tactics
These practices undermine competitive order, harm business interests, and constrain upgrades in service quality. Additionally, phenomena such as "multiple stores at one address" and "ghost kitchens" negatively impact food safety and consumer experience.
Call for Transparency
The initiative calls for greater transparency in platform rules and algorithms. Platforms should:
- Proactively disclose transaction rules
- Legally reveal key matters such as search ranking mechanisms, traffic allocation, commission rates, and promotional activities
These measures aim to safeguard operators' rights to information and fair trade.
(Source: China Hotel Association)
Source
金十数据Eastern
Part of this Story
China Probes Four Online Hotel Booking Platforms, Targets Exclusive Deals and Lowest-Price Clauses