The Trip.com Group said on Saturday that it would end exclusive hotel arrangements and demands that merchants offer the lowest available prices online after regulators in China imposed penalties of 5.18 billion yuan ($770 million) for monopolistic practices.
The 19 corrective measures issued by Trip represent a sweeping overhaul of the company's relationships with hotels, giving merchants greater freedom to work with rival platforms, set their own room rates and decide whether to participate in promotions.
The State Administration for Market Regulation said Trip, operator of the Ctrip travel platform, had abused its dominant position in China's online hotel-booking market since 2020.
The regulator ordered the company to surrender 1.66 billion yuan in illegal gains and imposed a 3.52 billion yuan fine, equivalent to 7.5 percent of its 2025 China sales. It also ordered Trip to refund around 122.8 million yuan in order reserve funds deducted from hotel operators.
Trip said it fully accepted the regulator's ruling and would implement the required changes. It described the penalties as a "profound warning and lesson" for the company.
