DMA (Digital Markets Act)
The DMA (Digital Markets Act) is a European Union regulation (Regulation 2022/1925) that entered into full effect in March 2024. It targets large online platforms — designated as "gatekeepers" by the European Commission — and imposes a set of behavioural obligations designed to ensure fairer and more contestable digital markets. For the hotel and OTA sector, it is one of the most commercially significant pieces of regulation in years.
Who it covers
The European Commission designates gatekeepers based on scale thresholds (market capitalisation above €75bn or annual EEA turnover above €7.5bn, plus a large active user base). In the travel and accommodation sector, Booking.com has been designated as a gatekeeper for its online intermediation services. Other platforms may be assessed as the regulation matures.
Key obligations relevant to hotels and OTAs
- Rate parity ban (self-preferencing): Gatekeepers cannot contractually require hotels to offer their best prices or availability exclusively on the gatekeeper's platform. This strengthens and EU-harmonises the patchwork of national parity bans that had already been introduced in markets such as France, Germany, and Italy.
- Fair and transparent ranking: Gatekeepers must disclose the main parameters used to rank hotels in search results and may not favour their own services or those of affiliated companies.
- Data portability: Hotels (as "business users") gain rights to access aggregated data that gatekeepers collect about interactions with their listings, improving hotels' ability to personalise direct offers and loyalty programmes.
- No forced bundling: Gatekeepers cannot require hotels to use additional gatekeeper services (e.g., payment processing or advertising products) as a condition of access to the platform.
- Interoperability: In some service categories, gatekeepers must allow third-party services to interoperate with their platforms.
Why it matters
The DMA's parity restrictions give hotels a clearer legal basis to offer better prices through direct channels, metasearch partners, and loyalty programmes than they can offer on a gatekeeper OTA — reinforcing disintermediation strategies. Non-compliance carries fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover (rising to 20% for repeat infringements), and the Commission can impose structural remedies in cases of systemic breaches.
Related concepts
Rate Parity, Direct Bookings, Disintermediation / Billboard Effect, OTA, Preferred Partner Program, Channel Mix