Booking.com faces legal action from thousands of hotels

More than 10,000 hotels across Europe are suing Booking.com, accusing the platform of enforcing anti-competitive pricing terms that violated EU law. The class-action suit aims to recover compensation for financial harm allegedly caused over a 20-year period.

As reported by The Economic Times, the lawsuit follows a 2024 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which determined that Booking.com’s “rate parity” clauses violated EU competition laws. These clauses had prevented hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites or alternative booking platforms.

What were the controversial pricing rules?

Booking.com’s former “best price” clauses effectively forced hotels to maintain the same room rates across all platforms—even their own. The ECJ found that this limited competition and left hotels unable to attract direct bookings through competitive pricing.

The court concluded that such clauses were not essential to the platform’s business model. They were subsequently banned across the European Economic Area under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force in 2024.

Compensation sought for 20 years of impact

The lawsuit, coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance, is being heard in the Netherlands, where Booking.com is headquartered. Backed by more than 30 national hotel associations—including Germany’s IHA, Italy’s Federalberghi and Hotelleriesuisse—the action seeks financial redress for the years 2004 to 2024.

"Hoteliers across Europe have long endured excessive costs and restrictive conditions," said Alexandros Vassilikos, President of Hotrec, the European umbrella group for the hospitality sector. “This case sends a strong signal that digital abuse will not be tolerated.”

Consumer claim also under way

Separately, Dutch consumer rights group Consumentenbond is preparing its own mass claim on behalf of travellers, arguing that inflated prices impacted end users too. Within just a week of announcing the move, over 180,000 people registered to join.

Registration deadline now extended

Due to the high volume of interest, the window for hotels to register their claims has been extended until August 29. Federalberghi Director General Alessandro Nucara urged more hotels to come forward, saying, “Now is the time to act collectively and seek justice.”

Booking.com disputes the allegations

The company has pushed back against the claims, describing them as based on a flawed reading of EU law. “It is absolutely nonsense to say we artificially inflated hotel prices,” a Booking.com spokesperson said in July.

While the platform has dropped its rate parity clauses in line with the DMA, it has signalled it will challenge the legal claims in court if necessary.

Booking.com remains a dominant force

Despite the legal backlash, Booking.com continues to be a critical channel for hotel bookings. A 2023 study by Hotrec and the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland Valais revealed that Booking Holdings held a 71% share of the European online hotel market—rising to 72.3% in Germany.

Over the past decade, direct hotel bookings in Germany dropped by more than 8%, a trend many attribute to Booking.com’s former pricing model.