Trip.com Group’s Antitrust Reset Could Change How Hotels Compete on Its Platform

A $770 million antitrust penalty is forcing Trip.com Group to rethink its China business, including how it distributes hotels and ranks properties on its platform. The company is now giving hotels and other suppliers greater control over commercial decisions. “In the near term, on our business operations side, as partners transition to the new upgrading model and market practices adjust, we expect some volatilities on our domestic performance,” said CFO Xiaofan Wang at Wednesday’s earnings call. The changes come as the company absorbs a RMB 5.2 billion ($770m) antitrust penalty that pushed it to a RMB 2.4 billion ($358m) loss in the second quarter, compared with a RMB 4.9 billion ($730m) profit a year earlier. While Trip.com called most of the regulatory charge a one-time hit, it warned that the shi