In China’s platform antitrust history, the penalty is the second-largest after Alibaba’s record fine, and slightly higher than Meituan’s. However, as a share of domestic sales, Trip.com’s penalty rate exceeds the combined rates imposed on Alibaba and Meituan.
In 2025, Trip.com reported annual net revenue of RMB 62.4 billion (approximately USD 9.2 billion). The RMB 5.179 billion (approximately USD 765 million) penalty represents 15.6% of its net profit attributable to shareholders, or roughly one-sixth of its annual earnings.
The size of the penalty has already attracted widespread attention. The more important question for the hotel industry, however, is what happens after the platform rules change.
Will hotels actually be better off?
The answer may not be that simple.
By ending exclusive partnership arrangements, Trip.com has given hotels greater control over their channel strategies. Operators can now decide how to allocate prices and inventory across Trip.com, Meituan, Fliggy, Douyin, and their own direct channels based on commission structures and customer segments.
But more choices do not automatically mean more bookings.
This summer, the travel industry has seen a wave of price cuts from hotels, losses among airlines, and travel agencies competing aggressively on low prices. What the industry lacks most is not distribution channels, but travelers willing to spend.
In the past, hotels could attribute operational pressure to platform commissions and traffic algorithms. Now that the old system is being dismantled, empty rooms will ultimately have to be sold by hotels themselves.
China’s hotel market is already locked in intense competition for existing demand. Instead of continuing to focus on controlling prices and inventory, hotels may need to devote more energy to finding new sources of demand.
Trip.com data shows that among the top 20 inbound tourism source markets this summer, Europe accounted for around 30%, with related bookings up 275% year on year. Ticket bookings surged more than 20 times.
These figures suggest that Trip.com’s overseas customer acquisition capabilities remain a scarce resource in the industry.
What domestic hotels need most right now may be exactly this kind of incremental demand.
The penalty will undoubtedly hurt Trip.com for a period of time, but it is unlikely to derail the platform’s continued growth. For hotels, the bigger challenge has only just begun: after gaining more freedom, they still need to figure out how to attract more guests.
