Google and Booking: The Symbiotic Gatekeeper Relationship in European Hotel Search

We dive into our recent user behavior research findings about hotel searches in Europe. We recruited 100 users each from Spain, France, and Germany, asking them to find hotels in Paris or Rome, and observed how they interacted with Google's search results. Key findings include: Dominance of Ads: A significant number of users, particularly on mobile, clicked on ads. Over 50% of mobile users engaged with ads, while many didn't scroll past them. Google’s Hotel Finder: Google’s Hotel Finder gathered about 30% of all clicks, while the newly introduced "Places Sites" module (compliant with the Digital Markets Act) attracted less than 2%. This highlights Google's continued self-preferencing, as the Hotel Finder consistently outranked other options. Booking.com’s Market Power: Surprisingly, Booking.com garnered a significant portion of clicks, primarily through ads, indicating that the platform's dominance extends beyond organic search results. This is particularly pronounced in Spain, where Booking.com’s share was overwhelming. Spain's antitrust authorities have fined Booking.com $450 million for abusing its monopoly. Country-Specific Behavior: Users in different countries showed varying behaviors. For instance, German users engaged more with filters and tabs, affecting their interaction with the Hotel Finder while Spanish users searhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-h%C3%B6ppner-7ba59a70/ched for and used Booking.com significantly more than the Hotel finder. Impact on Suppliers: The study raised concerns about the fairness of Google's results for individual hotel suppliers, as aggregators like Booking.com can outbid them in the ad arena and dominate the space. This dynamic likely leads to increased hotel prices for consumers. The European hotel market is quite distinct, with behavior in hotel searches differing drastically from other verticals, as well as across countries. This, coupled with Google’s persistent self-preferencing, poses challenges for fair competition. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands. Ep 174 Near Memo