The EC said the acquisition would have “resulted in Booking further consolidating its position in the market for hotel online travel agencies in the European Economic Area".

Booking Holdings entered into an agreement to acquire global technology provider Etraveli Group for €1.63 billion in November 2021. Etraveli Group chief executive Mathias Hedlund said he was disappointed by the EC’s decision.

“This proposed merger was a natural step forward in promoting healthy competition, hence we’re very disappointed with the European Commission’s decision to block the Etraveli Group acquisition by Booking Holdings,” he said. 

“For Etraveli Group to come together with Booking.com beyond the existing commercial partnership would have further benefited European consumers by reducing prices and enhancing competition in the flight sector while undoubtedly having negligible effects in the hotel OTA sector.”

Earlier this year, Etraveli Group was one of three OTA groups to make commitments to refund flight-only customers within seven days of receiving the funds back from the airline after a cancellation. 

The commitments came following discussions with the EC, national consumer authorities and the OTA groups.