China fined Ctrip Group 5.2 billion yuan

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) fined Ctrip Group approximately 5.18 billion yuan for abusing its dominant position in online hotel bookings.

Ctrip Group said it “sincerely accepts” the decision and will “fully abide by it,” according to a statement posted on WeChat.

After a months-long antitrust investigation, the fine amounted to approximately 670 million euros.

According to the decision of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the decision will impose a fine of 3.521 billion yuan (equivalent to 7.5% of Ctrip’s domestic sales in 2025) and confiscate illegal gains of 1.658 billion yuan. South China Morning Post. The group’s domestic brand Ctrip, known as Trip.com to the rest of the world outside China, must also pay back in full 122 million yuan in reserves that regulators say were withdrawn from hoteliers under pressure.

Regulators have accused Ctrip Group of using traffic allocation mechanisms, platform rules and technical measures to reach exclusive agreements with certain hotels and maintain preferential price conditions since 2020.

Authorities said the company used its market size to force hotels to distribute exclusively through its platform, restricting hotels’ commercial freedom. It also said some operators were forced to offer the lowest prices on the network: “Ctrip lowered prices through technical tools such as price adjustment assistants and list assistants, as well as through manual methods,” the report said People’s Daily.

Ctrip Group, the parent company of Ctrip, Skyscanner and Qunar and a core player in the global travel distribution ecosystem, said it accepted the ruling and listed 19 measures to prevent the recurrence of such behavior. these measures End exclusive partnerships that distort competition, stop forcing operators to match the lowest price, protect the legitimate rights and interests of hotel operators, and safeguard the rights and interests of consumers.

The antitrust investigation began in January 2026 and has prompted class action lawsuit U.S. shareholders believe Ctrip Group should disclose its use of algorithmic tools to keep partner prices as low as possible.

The ruling highlights that a platform’s technical and commercial power can become a risk factor when allocation, ranking or price adjustment tools are seen as impeding a fair market. As giants invest in user experience improvements and algorithm optimization, authorities are likely to tighten oversight of market-shaping mechanisms.