The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has forced Booking.com to change its policies after an investigation into its relations with Irish hotels.
The watchdog found that the online travel platform's policies restricted price competition with hotels, which it found to be against both Irish and EU competition law, according to the Irish Times.
The website's 'Best Price Guarantee' offer, it found, was against competition law as it prevented the host hotel from offering lower rates through direct sales.
As a result, it could mean a fall in hotel prices in Ireland as, because the CCPC has disallowed the online travel agent's restrictive practices, hotels may offer better deals to customers who call direct.
Isolde Goggin, chair of the CCPC said: “The commitments secured from Booking.com will enable increased competition amongst businesses operating in this sector, benefitting the businesses concerned and also consumers."
Consumer groups in France, Sweden and Italy have made similar investigations into Booking.com and Ireland is the latest country to step in.
