- Chinese regulators opened probes into four booking platforms on 19 September 2026.
- The SAMR Beijing branch handled the investigation.
- Platforms were pressured to abandon exclusive partnerships and lowest-price guarantees.
- Trip.com Group received a 5.18bn yuan ($776m) antitrust penalty in July 2026.
- All four platforms confirmed they were cooperating with authorities.
Chinese regulators have opened probes into four online hotel and travel booking platforms over suspected practices that may harm fair competition and merchant rights. The investigations have formed part of a wider regulatory focus on the sector.
On 19 September 2026, Chinese market regulators opened formal investigations into four major online travel and hotel booking platforms. The probes focused on suspected violations of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and E-Commerce Law, targeting practices that may undermine fair competition and merchant rights. The investigation, handled by the Beijing branch of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), targeted the operating entities behind Beijing Sankuai Information Technology (operating Meituan Travel), Hangzhou Taomei Aviation Services (associated with Alibaba’s Fliggy platform), Tongcheng Network Technology (operating Tongcheng Travel) and Tujia Online Information Technology (Tianjin) (operating Tujia).
While specific enforcement findings against the four platforms were not announced, the regulatory focus pointed to key industry pain points. Just days prior on 15 September, regulators held an administrative guidance meeting where platforms were pressured to abandon “exclusive partnerships” and mandatory “lowest-price guarantees”. The China Hospitality Association publicly backed the investigations, urging platforms to provide clear transparency regarding search rankings, commission rates, forced bundling and traffic allocation algorithms.
This wave of investigations signalled a rapid escalation from regulatory warnings to formal enforcement. It followed a record-breaking 5.18bn yuan ($776m) antitrust penalty levied against market leader Trip.com Group in July 2026 for abusing its dominant position in the online hotel booking market. All four newly targeted platforms issued public statements via channels like WeChat, confirming that their services remained fully operational and that they were actively cooperating with the authorities.
