Digital simplification should make life easier for European businesses, not remove one of the few tools that helps SMEs deal fairly with powerful online platforms.
As the European Commission advances its Digital Omnibus package, attention is focused on the AI Act, GDPR and Data Act. Yet the possible repeal of P2B deserves equal scrutiny. For Europe’s hospitality sector, and the millions of SMEs that depend on online platforms to reach customers, this would be a serious mistake.
Hotels, restaurants, bars and cafés increasingly rely on digital intermediaries to be found, booked and chosen by customers. Around one-third of hotel bookings in Europe are made through online travel agencies, with one dominant player holding a particularly strong position. Similar dynamics exist in food delivery and restaurant marketplaces, many of which fall outside the Digital Markets Act yet still exert significant influence over SMEs.
This reliance creates structural dependency. Platforms can determine whether businesses are visible, bookable and commercially viable online. They can shape how offers are presented to customers, how reviews affect reputation, and whether access to the platform is restricted or removed.
Simplification must not mean deregulation at the expense of SMEs
P2B was designed to address this imbalance. It requires clearer terms and conditions, greater transparency on ranking, safeguards around suspension and termination, and access to complaint-handling and dispute-resolution mechanisms. In short, it gives SMEs a baseline of predictability in digital markets.
The case for repeal rests on two assumptions: that enforcement has been limited, and that newer rules such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) cover the same ground. Neither argument is convincing.
First, the P2B framework has taken time to develop, but national authorities are increasingly using it. In hospitality, uptake was slower after COVID-19, but practical experience has grown in Italy, Ireland, France and Germany. The Regulation is now helping to address unfair contractual practices, improve transparency and clarify platform obligations.
Second, P2B does not duplicate the DSA or DMA. The DSA focuses on user-facing terms, algorithmic transparency and content moderation from a fundamental rights and consumer protection perspective. The DMA targets a limited number of designated gatekeepers. P2B addresses the day-to-day commercial relationship between platforms and business users.
Around one-third of hotel bookings in Europe are made through online travel agencies, with one dominant player holding a particularly strong position
Repealing P2B would not simplify EU law. It would create a regulatory gap.
For hospitality SMEs, this gap would be felt directly. Businesses need to understand how they are ranked, receive advance notice when terms change, benefit from fair procedures when accounts are suspended, and have reliable mechanisms to raise concerns when digital intermediaries affect their access to customers.
Europe’s digital agenda should support innovation, competitiveness and simplification. But simplification must not mean deregulation at the expense of SMEs.
As MEPs assess the Digital Omnibus, the question is clear: should the EU dismantle a framework that is beginning to work for European businesses?
The answer should be no. Keep P2B, improve its enforcement, and ensure that Europe’s SMEs can compete on fairer terms in the platform economy.
Political Advertising by Hotrec
This political advertiisng is designed to present the sponsor’s views on the Platform-to-Business Regulation in the context of the Digital Omnibus Package.
Full transparency notice: theparliamentmagazine.eu/hotrec-june-2026.htm
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