Over 10,000 Hotels Sue Booking.com for Damages Over Price Fixing

In a significant legal action, over 10,000 hotels across Europe have initiated a collective lawsuit against the travel platform Booking.com, seeking compensation for damages incurred due to enforced price-fixing agreements that spanned two decades. This litigation comes in the wake of a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in late 2024, which deemed such price agreements, known as best price clauses, to be in violation of antitrust laws.

The ECJ's ruling highlighted that these clauses prohibited hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites or through other channels, effectively stifling competition. The court determined that platforms like Booking.com could still operate efficiently without enforcing these restrictive agreements. Following this decision, Booking.com abolished these clauses across the European Economic Area in response to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) of 2024.

Alexandros Vassilikos, the president of the European hotel alliance Hotrec, emphasized that European hoteliers have endured unfair conditions and excessive costs as a result of these practices. He stated that the collective lawsuit sends a strong message against exploitative practices in the digital marketplace, asserting that the hospitality sector in Europe will not accept such behavior any longer.

The lawsuit is being coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance and is set to be heard by a court in the Netherlands, where Booking.com is headquartered. The legal action is backed by Hotrec and over 30 national hotel associations, including the German Hotel Association (IHA). Alessandro Nucara, the general director of the Italian association Federalberghi, stressed the importance of unity among hotels to demand accountability and compensation.

Markus Luthe, the chief executive officer of the IHA, remarked on the overwhelming support for the collective action, noting that the registration period for participating hotels has been extended until August 29 due to the high level of interest.

Despite the ongoing criticism of Booking.com, many hotels continue to rely on the platform to attract a wide audience of potential guests. A recent study conducted by Hotrec and the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland found that Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com, held a substantial market share of 71% across Europe in 2023, with Germany seeing an even higher figure of 72.3%. Furthermore, the proportion of direct bookings by hotels in Germany has decreased by over eight percent from 2013 to 2023.