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Google published the results on December 12, 2024, describing an experiment conducted as part of its response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The company’s public summary does not disclose enough experimental detail to independently verify the reported effects or determine how broadly they apply.
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What Google tested—and what it reported
Google said it tested removing hotel-related features from Search in Germany, Belgium and Estonia. It later said it stopped the experiment after observing negative effects. Its public account does not specify the exact start and end dates, the share of users exposed, whether users were randomly assigned, or precisely which Search features disappeared.
Google’s December 12, 2024 account reported the following:
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| Google’s reported result | What the public summary establishes |
|---|---|
| Users were less satisfied, took longer to find hotels, made more searches and more often abandoned searches. | These are Google’s reported measurements; the summary does not provide the underlying data or detailed methodology. |
| Hotel traffic fell by more than 10%, affecting hundreds of thousands of European hotels. | This is a company-reported figure. Google does not define “traffic” in the cited summary or provide an independent count. |
| Traffic to intermediary sites largely stayed flat. | That is Google’s characterization, not proof that every intermediary was unaffected. |
Google framed the outcome as a loss for users and European businesses. The measurements and that interpretation are not the same thing: the first describes what Google says happened in its test; the second argues that the result demonstrates the costs of the DMA-related changes.
Sources: Google’s test results and its DMA compliance update.
Why a worse result was predictable
Removing functionality adds friction
A hotel-search page that no longer shows useful hotel information or links can require more searches and navigation. Google’s earlier description of its DMA preparations referred to changes such as comparison-site units, query shortcuts and expanded hotel results for comparison sites and direct suppliers; it also warned that some existing features might be removed. If users were accustomed to an integrated experience, a stripped-down version could reasonably feel less convenient.
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That is an analysis of the test design, not a regulator’s finding. The public summary does not establish which particular elements were removed, so it would be speculation to say that the test specifically eliminated images, prices, ratings, maps or booking links.
A familiar interface is not the same as a fair one
If the comparison was between Google’s established hotel-search experience and a version with hotel features removed, the established experience had an obvious convenience advantage. But the relevant policy question is not necessarily whether Google should keep every feature or delete them all. A useful integrated interface could still give Google’s own service an unfair advantage if comparable third-party services receive worse ranking, placement or presentation.
Short-term dissatisfaction also cannot, by itself, show how users would respond after adapting to a new design. Google’s public account does not say whether there was an acclimation period, whether users knew the interface had changed, or whether results improved after repeated use. Nor does the summary report prices paid, booking completion, commissions or direct-booking outcomes. Search satisfaction, traffic and consumer welfare are related, but they are not interchangeable measures.
What the DMA dispute is about
The DMA took effect on March 6, 2024, in the European Union. Its Article 6(5) addresses self-preferencing: a gatekeeper must not treat its own services more favorably in ranking or related presentation than similar third-party services. The European Commission opened proceedings in March 2024 over concerns about Google’s treatment of vertical services including Shopping, Flights and Hotels.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe Commission’s concern was not simply that Google offered hotel information. Its later description of the issue referred to Google services appearing prominently in Search or in dedicated spaces with enhanced visual formats and filtering mechanisms. The question is whether comparable third-party services can compete on fair terms—not whether every specialized result must vanish.
Sources: the Commission’s March 2024 announcement, its Article 6(5) case document, and its later account of Search presentation.
What the hotel test cannot tell us
The experiment, as publicly described, tests the consequences of removing hotel features. It does not report a comparison among all plausible ways to preserve useful hotel search while treating providers more equally. Google has not publicly supplied enough detail in the cited summary to assess the experiment’s counterfactual or independently verify its reported effects.
A fuller evaluation would need to clarify what users saw, how they were assigned to conditions, which queries and devices were covered, and how long the test ran. It would also need to distinguish direct hotel sites from intermediaries and account for differences between branded and generic searches, independent hotels and large chains, and exploratory searches and booking-ready users. Hotel demand varies by season and destination; the public summary does not explain how such variation was handled.
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It matters, too, which outcomes count. More clicks may indicate extra friction—or help users discover a better price. Less traffic to hotels does not by itself show whether bookings fell, whether users paid more, or whether traffic shifted to a rival service. The public account does not provide enough information to answer those questions.
Hotels and intermediaries do not have identical interests
Google said intermediary traffic largely stayed flat while hotel traffic declined. That does not demonstrate that no intermediary gained, nor does it show that the result would hold for every kind of query or provider. It does complicate the simple claim that removing Google’s hotel features automatically sends the lost traffic to comparison sites.
And redirecting traffic away from Google is not necessarily the same as broadening competition. More visibility for large booking intermediaries could increase their influence over hotels, while independent properties may have fewer resources to attract direct bookings. Conversely, an integrated answer that sends users directly to suppliers can be convenient but may leave rival comparison services at a disadvantage. The effects can differ by hotel size, search intent and booking route; the test summary does not break them out.
The DMA also affects other platform relationships. The Commission says hotels and car-rental companies may be able to offer different prices and conditions on their own platforms rather than being restricted by parity requirements. Booking.com’s DMA obligations are separate from Google’s Search presentation rules: Booking.com was designated a gatekeeper in May 2024, and the Commission says hotels using it gained rights concerning data access and alternative offers. See the Commission’s DMA review Q&A and its Booking.com compliance update.
What later EU enforcement established
On July 23, 2026, the Commission fined Google €460 million for Search self-preferencing as part of a total €890 million DMA penalty that also included a separate Google Play steering matter. The Commission said Google gave preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping, hotels, transport and sports results.
That decision is important context, but it does not independently validate or invalidate every statistic in Google’s 2024 hotel-test summary. It establishes the Commission’s later enforcement position on Search conduct; it does not show that the hotel experiment’s measurements were fabricated, or that the regulator required a featureless hotel-results page. Google’s argument that removing features can hurt users does not resolve whether its earlier presentation gave its own service an unfair advantage.
Source: the Commission’s July 23, 2026 enforcement announcement.
A separate DMA track concerns Search data
On July 16, 2026, the Commission adopted binding measures requiring Google to provide eligible third-party online search engines—including AI chatbots with search functionality—with anonymized ranking, query, click and view data under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions. These measures concern Article 6(11), a data-sharing obligation distinct from Article 6(5)’s rules against Search self-preferencing and from the hotel-feature experiment.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe Commission said Google’s proposed approach had serious limitations, including removing 90% to 100% of unique search queries from the proposed dataset and excluding AI chatbots offering search services. Its published implementation schedule called for eligibility application information by the end of August 2026, sample data and template license agreements by September 2026, a finalized anonymized dataset by November 2026, and final pricing offers by January 2027. Those dates describe the Commission’s announced schedule, not confirmation that each milestone has already been completed.
Sources: the Commission’s July 16 announcement and its Search-data specification proceedings.
What Google’s test does—and does not—show
Google’s account is evidence that, in the test it described, removing hotel-related Search features was associated with worse user outcomes and lower hotel traffic. Because the public summary does not provide a full methodology or independent validation, readers cannot judge the magnitude and reach of those effects with confidence.
More fundamentally, the test does not answer whether a fairer integrated design could retain useful hotel search while giving comparable services equal treatment. The regulatory challenge is not to choose between user convenience and competition as though only one can exist; it is to determine how Search can provide useful results without privileging the platform’s own vertical services.
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