The google statement on spend is very misleading - I have a quite of few hospitality and hotel clients who - with work - have been able to sustain a top 2 google placement on Paid ads for under £200 a month - Its only with a few major hotels do I find that the costs creep into £500-£600 - but with ave booking value easily covering the costs.
However the petition is a great idea - its a total injustice but its increasingly common practice - and is now being used aggressively in the holiday park industry via the major players there (Hoseasons for instance)

To read and sign the Petition referred to above, search "petitions gov" to find the petition parliament UK site, then search "highjacking OTAs" to find Frank McCready's petition

Done... and hope it comes to something because this abuse of competitive position is utterly disgraceful and pretty much represents everything that is wrong with 21st century big business. These people are destroying any chance we have at generating direct bookings online!

Yes, though the good news is that there are glimmers of dawning consciousness amongst policymakers about the dangers of leaving giant platforms totally unregulated. They are beginning to see that regulation and competition law needs revamping, and consumers and small businesses need protecting from abusive behaviours by dominant online platforms.