FTC weighs action over Priceline affiliate hotel lookalike ads — M+ at stake

Guest Reservations advertises stays at specific hotels in ways that look like the hotels' own sites, then books rooms at higher prices and fees. The Better Business Bureau holds more than 1,000 complaints about it, many from customers who said they believed they were booking directly with the hotel; some also described unresponsive customer service. Its room inventory is supplied by Booking Holdings through Priceline Partner Solutions, according to an ongoing lawsuit against the companies filed by San Francisco.

On 7 October 2026, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the FTC is gearing up to act against Booking Holdings over the ads, examining whether Guest Reservations' sites violate the agency's rule against impersonating other businesses along with potential fee violations; one source said potential penalties could exceed million. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson confirmed the investigation and, at a September Reuters event, named ads leading to fake hotel-run-looking sites among the misleading practices the agency is pursuing.

Booking Holdings disclosed in August 2026 that the FTC was considering suing Priceline and an affiliate over disclosures, fees, customer support and billing practices, and said it was in talks with the agency to resolve the matter. Hotel industry groups say lookalike booking sites have been a persistent problem for years, and that hotel owners and staff are the ones left handling the guest complaints.

More than 1,000 BBB complaints; FTC weighing penalties that could exceed million, plus a pending San Francisco lawsuit.

Booking's Priceline unit supplied inventory to a booking site that over a thousand complainants said masqueraded as the hotels themselves.

Guest Reservations charged higher prices and surprise fees than the real hotels, the exact consumer harm the FTC's cost-of-living focus targets.

The FTC is weighing its business-impersonation rule against the sites, with potential penalties that sources put above million.

Booking had disclosed since August 2026 that a suit over disclosures, fees and billing was on the table, and entered settlement talks.

If your distribution partner trades on your brands' trust, regulators treat the deception as yours: an affiliate that impersonates hotels converts your inventory into your liability.

As of 7 October 2026 the FTC had confirmed the investigation but filed nothing; Booking Holdings was in talks to resolve it and Priceline declined to comment. Guest Reservations, which says it uses hotel trademarks only to help customers book rooms, did not respond to Reuters. San Francisco's suit remains ongoing. Ferguson said the misleading-ads work is prompting consideration of new rules on what platforms must do against such practices.