Over 10,000 European hotels have joined a class action lawsuit against hotel booking website Booking.com over its long-standing pricing policy, DPA reported.
The case is related to the European Court of Justice's 2024 ruling, which found that the practice of “parity clauses“ was potentially harmful to competition and excessive for Booking.com's business model. The clause is included in the agreement between the booking service and the hotels, prohibiting the latter from offering rooms on their websites or on competing sites at a lower price than Booking.com.
„European hoteliers have long suffered losses due to unfair terms of cooperation with Booking.com and increased costs. Hoteliers cannot tolerate unfair practices on digital platforms,“ the Agency quotes Alexandros Vassilikos, head of the European Association of Hotels, Cafés and Restaurants Hotrec.
Booking.com abandoned the “parity clause“ in 2024. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for losses from pricing policies for the period from 2004 to 2024. The case is expected to be heard by a court in the Netherlands, where the service is headquartered. The date of filing the claim has not been announced, and its initiators have extended the possibility of joining the legal proceedings with Booking.com until August 29, allegedly due to increased interest on the part of hotel owners.
The exact amounts of compensation have not been announced. The website of the organizers of the legal campaign notes that according to preliminary estimates, the hotels can claim a refund of 30% of the commission paid to Booking.com since 2004.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by cities and neighborhoods can be seen at imot.bg