We book a hotel, perhaps months in advance, convinced that we have found the right offer. Then comes a message apparently sent by the facility: there is a problem with the payment, you need to verify your credit card, perhaps by clicking on a link. Everything seems authentic, even the booking details. And instead it could be a scam.
It is also on risks like these that the European Commission has decided to shine a spotlight on Booking.com, one of the most used hotel booking platforms in Europe. Brussels has in fact announced the opening of a formal procedure to verify whether the online booking giant has complied with the obligations established by the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European regulation on digital services.
Three issues in particular are in the spotlight: false or irregular accommodation advertisements, phishing attempts that exploit booking data and sponsored advertisements that may not be clearly recognizable as advertising.
This is not, at least for the moment, a confirmed violation, but an investigation that could have important consequences for the platform and for the safety of millions of travellers.
Why the European Union is investigating Booking.com
The investigation arises from a preliminary assessment conducted by the European Commission, which examined risk reports submitted by the platform from 2023 to 2026, transparency reports and responses to official requests for information sent in September 2025 and May 2026.
The goal is to understand whether Booking.com has correctly identified fraud risks and taken sufficient measures to protect users.
The checks focus on three aspects.
- Non-existent accommodation and misleading adverts – Brussels wants to ascertain whether Booking.com is doing enough to identify and remove adverts for non-existent properties, accommodation that does not comply with the rules and offers published by scammers pretending to be owners or managers. The risk? Paying for a holiday and discovering, once you arrive at your destination, that the booked accommodation does not exist or that whoever collected the money had no right to rent it.
- Phishing and false payment requests – The Commission will also examine how Booking.com shares booking data with accommodation providers and how its messaging system works. Scammers may attempt to exploit authentic information, such as guest name and stay details, to send seemingly credible communications and convince victims to enter bank details or make fraudulent payments. Brussels wants to check whether adequate protections exist to prevent this information and communication channels from being used for scams.
- Unrecognizable Sponsored Ads – On Booking.com, some properties can gain greater visibility in search results by paying higher commissions. The problem, the Commission suspects, is that users may not clearly recognize these adverts as advertising. The DSA instead states that consumers must be able to understand who is funding an advert, on whose behalf it is being shown and why they are viewing it. That is: those who book must be able to distinguish a result relevant to their search from one that appears in a privileged position because the structure has paid to obtain greater visibility.
How to recognize a possible scam on Booking.com
While waiting for the developments of the European investigation, there are some precautions that can help avoid unpleasant surprises when booking a stay online.
And be careful: receiving a message within the platform does not automatically mean that it is authentic. It is precisely one of the risks that the European investigation wants to investigate further.
Following the announcement of the investigation, Booking.com assured its cooperation with European authorities, reiterating that security, trust and protection of personal information are fundamental priorities.
If violations of the Digital Services Act are found, Booking.com could be subject to fines of up to 6% of its annual worldwide turnover, the maximum limit established by the law. The Commission could also accept corrective commitments proposed by the company.
