Ctrip removes AI pricing tool amid antitrust investigation
Ctrip announced the discontinuation of its AI pricing tool on March 5, 2026, following reports that the system disrupted market pricing and engaged in price discrimination against consumers. The company is currently under investigation by China's State Administration for Market Regulation for alleged antitrust violations.
What happened
Ctrip announced on March 5, 2026 that it would discontinue its 'AI Business Assistant' (pricing adjustment tool) from its merchant management backend Ebooking starting March 10, 2026. The tool automatically adjusted hotel prices based on market conditions to maximize revenue.
Ctrip stated the tool had 'gradually received optimization suggestions from all sides' and the company 'fully recognized that this type of automatic pricing tool, widely used in the hotel and travel industry, is no longer suited to current industry high-quality development requirements.'
Reported impact
According to reports, the automatic pricing tool had been repeatedly questioned for disrupting market pricing and disrupting normal hotel operations. Users reported instances of price discrimination, including higher prices for existing users versus new users, premium rates for frequent business travelers, and higher prices displayed on Apple devices compared to Android devices.
The tool weakened hotels' ability to engage in autonomous pricing based on their own operating conditions and compressed the space for competition based on service quality and differentiation.
Index analysis
Ctrip is the first domestic OTA platform to announce discontinuation of a pricing adjustment tool. Most other online hotel booking platforms commonly provide such tools to merchants.
A researcher noted that while automatic pricing tools initially reduce merchants' cost of understanding market prices and making pricing decisions, from a long-term market development perspective they weaken merchant autonomy in setting prices based on their own operations.
Governance controls
In response to concerns, Ctrip stated it would continue providing merchants pricing guidance and operating instructions through the E-Booking 'Operating Guidance' and 'Data Center' sections, but these would only provide suggestive and reference information rather than automatic adjustments.
Ctrip announced related management changes on March 4, 2026, including promotion of technology executives and appointment of new directors, increasing independent director representation from 50% to 62.5% and female director representation from 12.5% to 37.5%.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.