FTC Moves Toward a Complaint Against Booking Holdings
Two sources told Reuters that the US Federal Trade Commission is preparing action against Booking Holdings over online ads that appear to direct consumers to a hotel's own site and instead send them to Guest Reservations, a third-party booking site. One of the sources put the potential penalties above $500 million. Both sources requested anonymity.
The agency is examining whether Guest Reservations' sites violate the rule against impersonating other businesses. The same source said the agency is also examining fee-related violations.
Booking Holdings disclosed the matter in its quarterly report for the period ended 30 June 2026. The company filed that report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 4 August 2026. The filing reads: "In July 2026, the Federal Trade Commission staff informed Priceline that they intend to recommend that the FTC files a complaint against Priceline and a business-to-business affiliate partner of Priceline asserting unfair or deceptive business practices related to disclosures, fees, customer support, and billing practices. Priceline does not agree with the FTC position and remains in discussions to resolve the matter."
The same filing lists the consequences Booking Holdings attaches to the investigation and to any litigation. It names commitments to change business practices, damages or penalties, and harm to the business, to its results of operations and to its reputation.
Priceline declined to comment to Reuters. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the investigation and declined to comment further. Guest Reservations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company's site states that it uses hotel trademarks or information only to help customers book rooms.
The Rule Under Examination
The rule at issue is the Trade Regulation Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses at 16 CFR 461. The FTC published the final rule at 89 FR 15017 on 1 March 2024, with an effective date of 1 April 2024. The rule prohibits the impersonation of government, of businesses, and of their officials or agents in interstate commerce.
The agency opened a related rulemaking on 1 October 2026. The proposal at 91 FR 62347 would address unfair or deceptive acts by search engine, social media and other digital marketplace platforms that further impersonation scams. The comment window closes on 30 November 2026.
The Supply Relationship in the Record
Booking Holdings supplies hotel room inventory to Guest Reservations through Priceline Partner Solutions. The source for that arrangement is a complaint filed by the City and County of San Francisco.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed the suit on 29 July 2026 against GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com, and against Booking Holdings as the supplier of inventory to both. The case is People of the State of California v. BookOnline.com, LLC, et al., San Francisco Superior Court No. CGC-26-639469. The city pleads violations of California's Unfair Competition Law and seeks an end to the practice, restitution for Californians and civil penalties.
The City Attorney's release states that the two sites have impersonated real hotels since approximately 2022 and overcharged travelers by up to 85 percent. It reports more than 1,800 nationwide consumer complaints against the two sites to the Better Business Bureau. It records the lowest BBB rating, an F, against BookOnline.com.
The release describes the method. The sites buy search engine advertising to rank at the top of hotel-specific results. They replicate the booking portals of named hotels and use addresses of the form "hotelname.bookonline.com". Reservations typically require payment in full, carry restrictive cancellation terms, and cost more than the hotel rate.
The Complaint Load at the Property
Many Guest Reservations complainants told Reuters they believed they were booking directly with a hotel. They reported surprise fees and unresponsive customer service.
The complaint load lands on properties, according to Laura Lee Blake, chief executive of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. The association states that it represents nearly 20,000 hotel owners in the United States.
Blake told Reuters that hotel owners and employees handle the guest complaints when third-party bookings go wrong. She said she had made a booking on a third-party website in the belief that she was booking with the hotel. "If someone who works in the hotel industry can make that mistake, imagine how easily the average traveler can be confused," she said.
A spokesperson for the American Hotel and Lodging Association told Reuters that third-party booking sites misrepresent their affiliations with hotels and advertise misleading rates and inventory. The association called the problem persistent.
Aggregator sites run by Booking Holdings and Expedia Group remain a major source of business for Marriott International and Hilton. Hilton, Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group declined to comment to Reuters. Hyatt did not respond.
The Chairman on Scope and Speed
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson told Reuters in September that the agency has been investigating misleading ad practices, including ads that lead to sites which appear to be run by hotels. "For tens of millions of Americans, they don't notice until they've checked out and they've paid exorbitant fees," he said at the Reuters Momentum AI event in Austin.
Ferguson said at a Georgetown University event in September that consumer protection cases bring quicker results than antitrust investigations, which can run for years while markets change.