Mega Lawsuit Against Booking.com: 750 Local Hotels Also Sue
More than 15,000 hotels from across Europe have registered for the class action so far, as Hotrec announced on Thursday. The majority of these hotels are located in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, and Austria. The deadline for registration ends on Friday.
750 Hotels from Austria Join Lawsuit Against Booking.com
In Austria, 750 hotels have already joined the class action. This clearly shows the great interest in a legal clarification, said Georg Imlauer, chairman of the Hotel Industry Association in the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ), in a statement. The highest participation rates relative to the size of the hotel sector are recorded in Iceland, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Ireland.
According to the umbrella association, which represents the interests of hotels, restaurants, bars, and cafés in Europe, the lawsuit aims to compensate hoteliers for financial losses caused by the use of certain clauses by Booking.com. At the latest after a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last September, it is clear "that these clauses violated EU competition law and European hotels are entitled to compensation," explained Hotrec.
ECJ Addressed "Best Price Clauses" of Booking.com
The CJEU dealt in its judgment (Case C-264/23) with so-called best price clauses that the booking platform had imposed on hotels until February 2016. According to these, hotels were not allowed to offer their rooms on their own website at a lower price than on Booking.com. The CJEU also addressed the question of whether the clauses could possibly have been permissible as so-called ancillary agreements to prevent free-riding - meaning that customers would look at hotels on Booking.com but then book cheaper on the hotel's own website. The hotels would then save the commission.
However, the CJEU ruled that best price clauses could not generally be regarded as ancillary agreements. Although platforms like Booking.com have a neutral or positive impact on competition and enable consumers to compare many offers quickly and easily, which could also make the hotels themselves more visible, best price clauses are not necessary to ensure the economic viability of such booking platforms.
In a statement, Booking.com pointed out that price parity clauses were abolished in Germany in 2016 and throughout the European Economic Area in July 2024. According to the booking platform, the court merely found that such clauses fall within the scope of EU competition law and that their effects must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Lawsuit against Booking.com to be filed before the end of the year
The class action lawsuit by European hotels against Booking.com is to be filed "before the end of this year" at the Amsterdam District Court, announced Hotrec Director General Marie Audren on Thursday. Hotrec President Alexandros Vassilikos highlighted the "overwhelming response of European hotels to our call to participate in the class action." This proves "that the hospitality industry is united," he stated. "It demands that the dominant gatekeeper change its market behavior and take responsibility for its misconduct."
(APA/Red)
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