What has been published
On 28 September 2026 the European Commission published a factual summary of how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) guarantees that businesses working through Booking.com are free to set their own prices. The platform is designated a “gatekeeper” and has had to comply with the obligations under the law since 14 November 2024. This concerns Article 5(3): the platform may not prevent hotels from offering different prices, availability or conditions on other channels, including their own website.
The summary is not a new act of the Commission. It describes changes that Booking.com made voluntarily after talks with the Commission.
What exactly has changed
According to the summary, the changes came in three stages.
- In July 2024, parity requirements were removed from the general delivery terms, from agreements and from partner programmes. The EEA terms no longer mention parity, and it is not a criterion for the Genius, Preferred and Preferred Plus programmes.
- Before September 2026, outside prices no longer counted towards the main ranking or towards eligibility for those three programmes, but they did count towards eligibility for Booking Sponsored Benefit (BSB).
- In September 2026, for all properties in the EEA, outside prices also drop out of the BSB conditions. With BSB, the platform itself lowers the displayed price and covers the difference: the property receives the full amount at the price it has set, and the agreed commission does not change.
In addition, Booking.com has added data on the effect of BSB, including for individual reservations, and clearer explanations of Genius, Preferred and Preferred Plus: how the “performance score” works, what the geographical comparisons are and what ends participation. Price scanning in the extranet remains for information only. The “competitive” and “non-competitive” price labels have been removed, so as not to imply that the platform expects prices to be matched. The Partner Hub now states that outside prices are not a ranking factor; according to the summary of 28 September 2026, the annex with the ranking rules (Annex 4) is planned to be updated in 2026; check in the extranet whether this has already happened.
What the summary does not say
It gives no percentages and does not promise more direct reservations. Nor does it change the contracts of individual properties. The Commission also notes that the voluntary changes do not affect ongoing national proceedings, and that they were coordinated with the competition authorities of Greece, Italy and Spain.
What to do as an owner
This is not legal advice. The practical steps are simple:
- Read the current terms and their annexes in the extranet and check whether anything different from what the summary describes applies to your property.
- Open the Booking Sponsored Benefit page and the new reservation data. Judge for yourself whether the programme works for you by comparing its effect with your own figures.
- Decide what price and what conditions you want on your own website, for example early booking, a longer stay or included breakfast, and write them down so that you keep them the same everywhere they are visible.
- Check how a guest sees these conditions on a phone. A clear “from” price and a description of the room are worth more than a hidden enquiry page.
The freedom to set your price does not by itself make the direct channel more visited: the guest has to find you and understand what they are getting. That is why the website is work that depends on you.
Finally
If your website is out of date, start with the basics: photos of the rooms, clear conditions, an enquiry form and an up-to-date phone number. You will find a more detailed sequence in our checklist for a small hotel website.