Thousands of Hotels Take Booking.com to Court Over Alleged “Forced Price Fixing”

European Hotels Rise Up: Why Thousands Are Suing Booking.com

A 20-year fight for fairness in the hotel industry may have finally reached its turning point

For two decades, European hotels have been locked into contracts that, according to thousands of hoteliers, effectively handcuffed them. Now, over 10,000 hotels across Europe are taking Booking.com to court — not just for symbolic justice, but for actual compensation tied to years of financial strain.

The collective lawsuit, filed with the support of the Association of Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe (HOTREC) and more than 30 national hotel associations, accuses the travel booking giant of using illegal “parity clauses” that fixed hotel prices on its platform — to the detriment of direct hotel sales.

The legal domino that triggered the lawsuit

This massive legal offensive follows a pivotal ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in September 2024, which declared that Booking.com’s parity clauses breached EU competition law.

These clauses prevented hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites than they did on Booking.com. While that may sound like standard OTA practice to the average traveler, the court found that it restricted competition and locked hotels into a system that disproportionately benefited the platform — not the businesses.

With the ECJ now on their side, affected hotels are demanding compensation for losses incurred between 2004 and 2024, including the commissions they were forced to pay and the interest accrued over that period.

How did it come to this?

The complaint stems from what many hoteliers describe as “forced price fixing.” For years, hotels found themselves unable to run special promotions or undercut Booking.com prices on their own websites — even for loyal or returning guests. The result? A system that discouraged direct bookings and funnelled income toward the OTA, which took a significant cut in the form of commission.

According to HOTREC, this not only harmed smaller and independent hotels but also undermined fair market competition across Europe’s hospitality industry.

Reclaiming lost revenue

If successful, this lawsuit could see Booking.com paying out millions — if not billions — in compensation. Hotels eligible for the claim can seek to recover a share of the commissions paid over the last 20 years, which could offer a financial lifeline to businesses still recovering from the post-Covid travel slump and cost-of-living crises affecting tourism.

Public reaction: applause from the industry, questions from travellers

On social media and hospitality forums, the reaction has been swift. Hotel owners across Europe have called the lawsuit “long overdue,” while some travellers have expressed surprise that these pricing tactics were even legal in the first place.

A hotel manager in Italy commented on LinkedIn: “We’ve been waiting for this moment for years. Hopefully this marks the start of a fairer, more balanced online booking ecosystem.”

Others worry about the potential ripple effects on hotel pricing transparency and the convenience Booking.com offers consumers.

A broader shift in power?

This lawsuit isn’t just about Booking.com. It’s part of a wider reckoning in the travel and hospitality space, where smaller businesses are beginning to push back against the dominance of tech giants and online platforms.

As digital gatekeepers come under greater scrutiny from EU regulators, this case may set a precedent for future legal challenges — not only in travel but across all online marketplaces.

The road ahead

Legal battles of this scale don’t resolve overnight. But for now, European hotels have the wind of the ECJ at their backs — and perhaps, for the first time in a long while, a fighting chance to tip the scales.

Source:Travel News 

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