10,000 European hotels sue Booking.com over unfair pricing practices
More than 10,000 hotels across Europe have joined a class action lawsuit against Dutch-based Booking.com, demanding compensation for years of being prevented from offering cheaper rates on their own websites.
Booking.com enforces “rate parity” clauses, requiring hotels to display their lowest prices on the platform. This practice was intended to discourage customers from using Booking.com to find accommodation and then booking directly at a better price through the hotel’s own site.
However, in September last year, the European Court of Justice ruled against this model, stating that the platform can function perfectly well without such restrictions. In response, and under the pressure of the new European Digital Markets Act, Booking.com discarded the practice.
"European hoteliers have long suffered from unfair terms and excessive costs. Now is the time to stand together and demand compensation,” said Alexandros Vassilikos, president of Hotrec, the umbrella organisation representing European hospitality federations. The lawsuit seeks damages covering the period between 2004 and 2024.
In 2018, under deputy prime minister Kris Peeters, Belgium introduced legislation that prohibited such parity clauses, following the example of several other EU states.
The law, described as one “regarding the freedom of pricing for our hotel sector”, restored hoteliers’ ability to set their own rates without interference from online booking platforms. It also applied retroactively to contracts signed before the law came into force.
However, Horeca Vlaanderen, the industry’s Flemish trade association, is now joining the European group action to claim compensation for damages suffered before the 2018 legislation.
© PHOTO ELENA OBERTI / LE DAUPHINÉ LIBÉRÉ
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