What is EU investigating Booking.com for? Fake hotel listings, phishing scams and more | Explained
The European Commission has opened an investigation into online accommodation booking platform Booking.com amid concerns that it is not protecting consumers from fake property listings and phishing scams.
The investigation will examine whether the company is complying with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to protect consumers from fake and harmful content.
Regulators will look into listings for properties that do not exist, as well as scams in which criminals pretend to be legitimate hotels or accommodation providers. They will also consider whether Booking.com has detected these risks and taken suitable action to mitigate them.
The investigation will also focus on phishing attacks in which fraudsters use booking information and personal data shared with accommodation providers to deceive customers into making payments.
The European Commission will further examine how Booking.com labels paid listings. Regulators want to establish whether the platform clearly informs users when accommodation providers pay to have their properties appear higher in search results.
An EU Commission official said Booking.com needed to improve its efforts to identify risks and prevent fraud under the DSA.
“We feel that what they have done is absolutely substandard,” the official said. “Although they take measures, they could go much further and they could have much more solid systems to prevent fraud.”
The Commission clarified that launching the investigation does not mean the company has been found to have violated EU rules. The outcome will depend on the findings of the probe.
One of the scams involves fake accommodation listings that mislead customers into believing they have booked a genuine property. Travellers may discover that the accommodation does not exist or was falsely advertised only after reaching their destination.
The investigation comes after UK consumer group Which? highlighted security concerns on the platform. Its researchers created a fake listing offering a stay at 10 Downing Street and were able to accept payments through Booking.com.
Another form of fraud, called a reservation hijack, involves criminals gaining access to stolen or hacked information and posing as legitimate accommodation providers. They may then contact guests through WhatsApp or Booking.com and ask them to make additional payments to confirm or secure their bookings.
In an Instagram post, the EU said that Booking.com accounts for 66% of online hotel reservations in Europe. It also said the platform had seen a 500% rise in scams between 2022 and 2024.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, Booking.com says it has 28 million accommodation listings worldwide.
The company said it was cooperating with the European Commission as part of the investigation.
“Security, trust and the protection of personal information are top priorities at Booking.com,” a company spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
“We remain committed to working with relevant governments, regulators, law enforcement and industry partners to combat cybercrime and online fraud, and protect travellers and partners.”
Agustín Reyna, director general of BEUC, a pan-European consumer group, welcomed the Commission’s decision to investigate the platform.
“It is positive to see the European Commission investigating Booking.com for failing to meet EU digital rules. This is a systemic problem,” he said.
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