<p><strong>Trip.com suspected of monopoly｜</strong> The State Administration for Market Regulation of China announced on Wednesday that it has launched an investigation into Trip.com Group (9961) for allegedly abusing its market dominance to engage in monopolistic behavior under the Anti-Monopoly Law. After a sharp drop of 6.5% yesterday, Trip.com's stock price fell by more than 20% this morning, hitting a low of 446 yuan, marking a nearly 27% decline over two days; its competitor Tongcheng Travel (780) also saw a sharp drop, falling over 9% to 22.2 yuan this morning. It is noteworthy that Trip.com was already questioned multiple times by regulatory authorities last year, and some domestic media cited analysts indicating that this investigation sends a clear signal to platform economy operators—&#34;the normalization of regulation in the internet industry does not mean a relaxation of enforcement.&#34; Additionally, major institutions estimate that if Trip.com is found to be in violation, potential fines could reach up to 4.9 billion yuan (RMB, the same below).</p>
<p>Related article: Trip.com under investigation by the market supervision bureau for monopolistic behavior, responds that its business is operating normally.</p>
<h2>Trip.com suspected of monopoly｜Involves &#34;choose one of two&#34; and automatic price adjustments</h2>
<p>According to domestic media Economic Observer, the investigation team from the State Administration for Market Regulation visited Trip.com's headquarters in Shanghai on Monday (the 12th) to conduct the investigation. One person close to the regulatory department indicated that the market supervision department has received complaints over the past year from local regulatory bodies and businesses, reflecting that online travel platforms (OTAs) like Trip.com are suspected of requiring merchants to &#34;choose one of two,&#34; automatic price adjustments, and other violations.</p>
<h2>Trip.com suspected of monopoly｜Trip.com: Actively cooperating with regulatory investigations</h2>
<p>Trip.com responded to domestic media, stating that it will actively cooperate with regulatory investigations, fully implement regulatory requirements, and work with all parties in the industry to build a sustainable market environment. The company indicated that all its businesses are currently operating normally and will continue to provide quality services to a wide range of users and partners.</p>
<h2>Trip.com suspected of monopoly｜Previously questioned multiple times by local market supervision authorities</h2>
<p>It is worth noting that Trip.com was questioned multiple times by local market supervision authorities last year. In September last year, it was administratively interviewed by the Zhengzhou Market Supervision Bureau, which found that it violated regulations by using service agreements, transaction rules, and technical means to impose unreasonable restrictions on the transactions and transaction prices of operators on the platform. At that time, the authorities issued a &#34;Notice of Correction,&#34; stating that the purpose of the interview was to urge the company to comprehensively rectify and standardize operations, effectively maintain fair competition in the market, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of operators on the platform.</p>
<p>In August last year, the Guizhou Provincial Market Supervision Administration also interviewed several travel platform companies, including Trip.com, indicating that they engaged in &#34;choose one of two&#34; practices and used technical means to interfere with merchant pricing. Additionally, the Yunnan Province Tourism Homestay Industry Association pointed out in November last year that certain OTAs (online travel agencies) like Trip.com used their market dominance to implement unfair competition practices, including but not limited to &#34;choose one of two&#34; clauses, arbitrary commission increases, setting unfair trading conditions, and blocking traffic.</p>
<h2>Trip.com suspected of monopoly｜Users criticize &#34;big data killing familiarity&#34;</h2>
<p>After the news was released, &#34;Trip.com suspected of monopoly&#34; trended on Weibo, resonating with many users, with numerous people stating they had encountered the platform's &#34;big data killing familiarity.&#34; Some users claimed, &#34;Booking the same hotel with two phones resulted in different prices, it's clearly based on who you are.&#34; Other users pointed out that the prices displayed on the flight page often do not match the payment amount, and upon careful inspection, they found that the platform had quietly pre-selected various value-added services
Some users have stated that they have already switched to booking through the hotel’s official app to ensure lower and more transparent prices.</p>
<h2>Ctrip Accused of Monopoly | The Homestay Industry Reveals Platform Takes Over Half</h2>
<p>In addition to consumers, some homestay operators have revealed that Ctrip strongly promotes a &#34;choose one of two&#34; policy, implementing traffic restrictions and automatic price adjustments, causing over 100 homestays in their scenic area to suffer greatly. &#34;The right to adjust room prices is completely out of our hands, and all the income from each order is determined by Ctrip.&#34;</p>
<p>He pointed out that during peak travel seasons, even if the room price is marked as over 400 yuan, the actual income for the homestay is only 180 yuan, with the remaining 220 yuan taken by the platform. He cited a small homestay with only 14 rooms as an example, stating that the income reduced due to platform restrictions amounts to at least 80,000 yuan each year.</p>
<h2>Ctrip Accused of Monopoly | Including Tongcheng Travel, Domestic OTA Market Share Approaches 70%</h2>
<p>According to data from Bank of Communications International, as of the end of 2024, Ctrip's market share in the core hotel and travel market GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) has reached 56%. If we include the market share of its strategically invested Tongcheng Travel (780), which is about 13%, the total market share of the Ctrip system occupies nearly 70% of the domestic OTA market, far exceeding competitors like Meituan (about 13%), Fliggy (about 8%), and Douyin (about 3%).</p>
<h2>Ctrip Accused of Monopoly | Domestic Media: Highlights the Continuity of Internet Industry Law Enforcement</h2>
<p>Another domestic media outlet, the 21st Century Business Herald, quoted senior partner Deng Zhizong from Beijing Dacheng Law Firm, stating that the latest investigation into Ctrip is the first formal antitrust investigation initiated by the State Administration for Market Regulation against large platform enterprises since the &#34;choose one of two&#34; cases involving Alibaba (9988) and Meituan (3690) in 2021, and the case of CNKI abusing market dominance at the end of 2022. This sends a clear signal to operators in the platform economy that &#34;the normalization of regulation in the internet industry does not mean a relaxation of enforcement, and it highlights the continuity of this field as a focus of law enforcement.&#34;</p>
<p>He also reminded that for platform enterprises closely related to people's livelihoods, such as travel, online shopping, food delivery, social networking, and ticketing, they should fully understand the warning significance contained in this case. In the context of normalized antitrust regulation and &#34;anti-involution&#34; competition, platform enterprises need to maintain a rational attitude, integrating fair competition and corporate construction as core compliance elements into their daily operations.</p>
<h2>Ctrip Accused of Monopoly | What Consequences Does Ctrip Face in the Future?</h2>
<h3>Citigroup: May Face Fines of 10% of Annual Sales Revenue</h3>
<p>On the other hand, a Citigroup report pointed out that according to the mainland's Antitrust Law, operators who violate any monopoly agreements or abuse market dominance will be ordered to cease related activities, confiscate illegal gains, and face fines ranging from 1% to 10% of the previous year's sales revenue. If Ctrip is found to be in violation, potential fines could range from 490 million to 4.9 billion yuan (based on estimates of its domestic and outbound business revenue in 2025). The bank also noted that it remains to be seen whether this investigation will affect Ctrip's domestic profit margins or commission rates, which may impact market sentiment before the investigation concludes</p>
<h3>Hotels, Homestays, and Consumers May Also Claim Compensation</h3>
<p>Caixin quoted Liu Xu, a special researcher at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute, pointing out that after the State Administration for Market Regulation imposed penalties on Trip.com, the company may also face claims from hotels, homestays, and even consumers whose legal rights have been harmed. In fact, JD.com (9618) previously sued Alibaba for abusing its market dominance and was awarded a first-instance judgment of 1 billion yuan</p>

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<p>Trip.com Group has been investigated by the State Administration for Market Regulation of China for suspected monopolistic behavior, with its stock price plummeting nearly 27% within two days. If found guilty, it could face fines of up to 4.9 billion yuan. The investigation involves violations such as "choose one from two" and automatic price adjustments. Trip.com stated that it will actively cooperate with the investigation and that its business operations are running normally. The company has been summoned multiple times last year for imposing unreasonable restrictions on transactions by operators within the platform</p>

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Trip.com

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Trip.com is being investigated for monopoly and previously plummeted by 20%. The fine could reach 4.9 billion, crossing the "choose one from two" red line, with homestays revealing that the platform's commission exceeds half