The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a strategic regulatory review of its existing market remedies to determine whether longstanding requirements remain relevant under current market conditions.
The consultation, which runs until 2 March 2026, could lead to the removal or amendment of remedies across multiple sectors, including travel and hospitality, potentially reducing compliance costs for more than 10 000 companies.
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The CMA’s initiative reflects broader government efforts to streamline regulation and support business growth by easing the regulatory burden.
Scope of the CMS regulatory review and business compliance
Market remedies are measures the CMA imposes following competition investigations to address concerns where markets are deemed not sufficiently competitive. These can include operational or reporting requirements that companies must meet as part of remedy packages.
As part of the current review, the CMA has identified 33 remedies – around 60 % of those in place – that may no longer be necessary because they have been superseded by new laws, technological change, or evolving market practices.
For the hotel industry and wider travel sector, this includes potential changes to former travel-related remedies that date back over a decade, from a time when in-person bookings were more common.
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By GlobalDataThese older remedies can entail administrative compliance that businesses say adds cost and complexity without corresponding competitive benefit. Revisiting such requirements is intended to ensure that competition rules do not inadvertently weigh on business efficiency.
Implications for hotel regulatory burden and market practices
A reduction in outdated market remedies could lower compliance overheads for hotels and hospitality firms, particularly those operating across the UK and internationally.
Travel and tourism companies, including hotel chains that were subject to specific remedy conditions, might see some reporting obligations eased or removed entirely if the CMA concludes they no longer address relevant competition issues.
Nevertheless, the CMA has excluded from review those remedies that “continue to deliver impact,” such as measures protecting consumer information or those linked to fair pricing practices.
The outcome will depend on consultation responses from industry stakeholders, including hotel industry associations, which may influence whether specific remedies are amended rather than removed.
Industry context and next steps
The review is part of wider regulatory reform objectives endorsed by the UK Government to reduce administrative burdens on businesses and make the UK a more attractive environment for investment and growth.
Similar reviews of merger remedies and enforcement processes are underway, signalling a broader shift towards proportionate and risk-based competition oversight.
For hotel operators and sector advisers, the consultation presents an opportunity to shape how competition regulation applies to current market realities.
Responses to the CMA’s call for evidence are invited until early March, after which the authority will assess feedback and determine which remedies should be updated or removed.
