Mirai, a leading provider of hotel technology solutions that aim to maximize direct sales and minimize distribution costs, has observed a significant impact on hotel direct sales due to the European Digital Markets Act (DMA). Mirai’s data reveals a 30% reduction in Google Hotel Ads traffic and a decline of up to 36% in direct bookings within EU markets affected by the DMA.
The DMA was implemented between January 19 and March 7 this year, introducing far-reaching changes to Europe’s digital landscape, impacting hotels worldwide. In July 2023, the European Union identified six digital companies as ‘gatekeepers’: Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft (Windows). More recently, on May 13, the European Commission also designated Booking.com as a gatekeeper.
For Google, this designation means that it cannot feature its own vertical services, such as Google Maps, Google Flights, or Google Hotel Ads, in its search results pages (SERPs). Consequently, Google has had to adjust its platform, including Google Hotel Ads, which has impacted hotel visibility and direct sales.
These changes have presented significant challenges for European hoteliers, who are experiencing decreased visibility and a reduced capacity to sell directly. This shift has increased their reliance on intermediaries, which has negatively impacted profitability. Additionally, the altered presentation of hotel options on Google has affected user experience, making the purchasing process more complex.
Javier Delgado Muerza, CEO EMEA at Mirai, commented, “Since 2022, Mirai has been actively engaged with this subject, working directly with the EU, Google, and the European hotel industry to ensure that the implementation of DMA is beneficial for the entire European hotel ecosystem and to find solutions that mitigate these negative impacts and promote a more balanced and competitive ecosystem. Therefore, we are very disappointed that the recent introduction of the DMA has rather ironically and unfairly favored large US companies such as Booking Holdings or Expedia, while disadvantaging hotels. This goes against the very principles of the anti-competitive laws it intended to introduce.”
Mirai encourages affected hoteliers to file formal complaints with the European Union’s Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton, Internal Market ( [email protected] ), and HOTREC, the European association for hotels, restaurants, bars, and cafes ( [email protected] ).
