Europe's hotels launch billion-dollar lawsuit against Booking.com!

Europe's hotels launch billion-dollar lawsuit against Booking.com!

Over 15,000 European hotels have come together to submit a class action against the booking.com booking platform. This complaint, which, according to the General Director of the European umbrella organization Hotrec, Marie Auden, is to be submitted to the Amsterdam district court this year, aims to demand compensation for financial losses caused by the so -called best price clauses. The class action is coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance and receives support from over 30 national hotel associations, including the Hotelverband Germany (IHA), and emphasizes the joint support of the European hotels for this step.

The central problem lies in the best price clauses, which were anchored in contracts with hotels until February 2016 and prohibited them from offering rooms cheaper on their own websites than on Booking.com. This regulation was classified as antitrust law by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In its ruling (case number C-264/23) in September 2023, the ECJ found that the clauses violated European competition law. The decision gives the affected hotels the right to compensation for the period from 2004 to 2024.

Details on the lawsuit

The lawsuit is directed against Booking.com's practices, which are considered price fixing and thus restrict competition among hotels. Hotels that relied on the booking platform had to pay commissions, which were borne by hotel guests via the room prices. The best price clauses were originally intended to prevent free-riding bookings, but the ECJ has decided that Booking.com can operate in an economically stable manner even without these clauses.

• Über 15.000 Hotels klagen gemeinsam gegen Booking.com.
• Klage geht auf Bestpreisklauseln, die bis Februar 2016 in Verträgen verankert waren.
• EuGH-Urteil vom Herbst 2024 erklärt die Klauseln für kartellrechtswidrig.
• Die Klage wird beim Bezirksgericht Amsterdam verhandelt.
• Anmeldefrist für die Sammelklage wurde bis zum 29. August verlängert.

In addition, a study by Hotrec and the University of Applied Sciences in Western Switzerland Wallis shows that Booking Holdings in 2023 held a market share of 71 percent in Europe and 72.3 percent in Germany. This dominant market relationship has led to the proportion of direct bookings in Germany between 2013 and 2023 by over 8 percent, which illustrates the dependency of many hotels on platforms such as Booking.com.

Economic effects

The economic pressure on the hotels is high, especially in times of rising travel expenses and the need to remain competitive. In the second quarter of 2023, Booking.com recorded an increase in sales from 16 percent to $ 6.8 billion and predicts further sales growth in the third quarter. Despite these positive corporate figures, the legal situation is tense for Booking.com, which is reinforced by the EU Digital Act (Digital Markets Act, DMA). The best price clauses were abolished throughout the European economic area, which could increase the pressure on Booking.com.

The class action lawsuit is a significant step for the European hotel industry and could have far-reaching consequences for the business practices of the major booking platforms. The affected hotels are hoping for fair compensation that could help them at least partially offset the financial damage of the last two decades.

Further information on this topic is available Cosmo, while Daily show and DW Report comprehensively on the background and developments.