Booking's CEO Warns About Overregulation: I’m Against Raising Prices
Skift Take
Booking Holding's acquisition of eTraveli serves as a litmus test for how far regulatory bodies can go to curb market consolidation.
Glenn Fogel, Booking Holdings CEO, confirmed Wednesday that Booking.com has extended its contract with Swedish flight-tech company eTraveli Group eTraveli and would continue to build its fledgling flight business while appealing the European Commission’s objection to the $1.7 billion acquisition.
However, he said the scaled-down strategy would mean going slower, and “consumers would end up paying.”
Fogel raised concerns about the blocking of the deal in a discussion with Skift Founding Editor Dennis Schaal at the Skift Global Forum in New York. “I absolutely believe they’re wrong on the facts, wrong on the law, and it’s the wrong policy,” he said.
In the commission’s view, the eTraveli deal would make Booking.com even stronger in hotel sales because an increasing number
