Booking can no longer penalise you for a lower price on your own website
On 28 September 2026, the European Commission confirmed what Booking.com may no longer do with your prices. For hosts who want more direct bookings, this is good news.
Many hosts have had the same fear for years: if you offer a lower price on your own website or Facebook than on Booking, Booking will punish you with worse rankings or the loss of perks. On 28 September 2026, the European Commission explained what has changed here, and the change works in hosts' favour.
what the commission confirmed
Booking.com is designated a "gatekeeper" in the EU under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Because of that, it may not restrict properties in the price they charge on other channels.
According to the Commission's overview, all properties in the European Economic Area, not just hotels, can offer different prices, availability and conditions on other platforms and on their own website than they do on Booking.
Since September 2026, a few concrete things have changed too:
- Booking Sponsored Benefit (BSB) no longer looks at your prices outside Booking when deciding whether you are eligible for the programme. With BSB, Booking shows the guest a lower price and covers the difference itself, while you receive the full amount and pay the same commission.
- The "competitive" and "non-competitive" labels, which showed how your price compared with other channels, have been removed.
- Booking says it does not use outside prices for default ranking of listings.
- Properties get more information about how the Genius, Preferred and Preferred Plus programmes work.
background
On 19 September 2024 (case C-264/23), the EU Court of Justice found that Booking's price parity clauses, both wide and narrow, cannot be regarded as necessary ancillary restraints, so they must be assessed under competition rules. It left the final assessment to the Dutch court. In January 2026, thousands of hotels from across Europe, backed by more than 30 national hotel associations, filed a collective action against Booking in a court in Amsterdam. The claimants argue that these clauses harmed them for years.
what this means for you
In short, you are allowed to be cheaper on your own channel than on Booking.
That matters because every direct booking means you don't pay a commission to a platform. A guest who stayed with you once and books direct next year is pure difference in your earnings.
A few practical tips:
- Set up a channel for direct bookings. That could be a website, a booking system, or at least a clear contact that guests know how to use.
- Give returning guests a reason to book direct. A slightly lower price, a later check-out, a bottle of homemade wine.
- Don't blindly copy Booking's prices to every channel. You now have the right to do the maths differently for each channel.
- Booking still matters. For new guests it is hard to replace. The point is not to leave the platform, but not to depend only on it.
At Livvi, we are building our whole model around this. The commission is 2%, and your property can still be connected to Booking and Airbnb.