Ctrip fined 5.18 billion yuan in China for monopolistic practices

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has imposed a total fine of 5.18 billion yuan on Ctrip Group, the country's largest online travel agency, for antitrust violations. The penalty includes fines and confiscation of illegal gains. The ruling stems from an investigation into Ctrip's alleged abuse of its dominant market position on the online hotel booking platform services market.

The investigation, launched in January 2026, found that Ctrip used its market power to implement monopolistic behaviors. These included demanding exclusive cooperation from hotels categorized as "special brand" in exchange for preferential traffic allocation and incentives. Additionally, Ctrip mandated that "gold brand" and "no brand" hotels offer the "lowest price across the net" on its platform and used technical tools and manual methods to monitor and enforce these pricing policies.

SAMR stated that Ctrip's actions excluded and restricted market competition, limited hotels' cross-platform operations, infringed upon their pricing autonomy, harmed consumer interests, and intensified "involutionary" competition within the industry, hindering its healthy development. Ctrip was ordered to cease its illegal activities and fully refund 122 million yuan in order reserve deposits confiscated from hotels.

The fine was calculated at 7.5% of Ctrip's 2025 domestic sales, amounting to 3.52 billion yuan. Illegal gains confiscated totaled 1.66 billion yuan. SAMR will supervise Ctrip's rectification measures to ensure compliance and promote fair competition in the travel sector.