Hotel associations from 26 European countries have launched a large-scale lawsuit against the online travel platform Booking.com, challenging the use of price parity clauses, which they say limit competition and lead to inflated commission fees. The national hotel associations of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland are participating in the lawsuit. Where is Bulgaria… Dr. Ivelin Kichukov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Tourism Association, spoke to FACTI.
- Mr. Kichukov, hotel associations from 26 European countries have launched a large-scale lawsuit against the online travel platform Booking.com, challenging the use of price parity clauses. How did this lawsuit come about?
- Hoteliers in Europe united because for years Booking.com imposed so-called price parity clauses – hotels were not allowed to offer lower prices on their own site or through another channel. This distorted competition and made the service more expensive. In September 2024, the European Court of Justice ruled that these practices violate the law, and as of July 2024, they were abolished. Now over 10,000 hotels from 26 countries, supported by their national associations and HOTREC, are seeking compensation for overpaid commissions in the period 2004-2024. It is this combination of long-standing pressure and a judicial admission of violation that led to the large-scale lawsuit.
On behalf of the Bulgarian Tourism Association, we support this case because Bulgarian hotels have also been put in an unequal position for years.
Our goal is not just to recover the overpaid commissions, but to protect the right of each hotel to freely determine its own pricing policy. For us, this is a key step towards restoring fair competition and towards a more sustainable development of tourism in Bulgaria and Europe.
- The hotel associations have started the case because of price restrictions. Let's put it in understandable language. What is a “price cap“?
- Price cap means that Booking.com obliged hotels not to offer lower prices anywhere else – neither on its own site nor through other partners. This way, the hotel could not freely determine how much a room would cost, and customers often paid more. This is the reason why the associations filed the lawsuit – to return the right of hotels to decide their own pricing policy.
- Where is Bulgaria, will we join….
- Bulgaria is among the countries that are actively monitoring the process.
As the Bulgarian Tourism Association, we have already sent an official letter to the company coordinating the collective action in order to receive the conditions and procedures for inclusion.
Our goal is for Bulgarian hoteliers to have the opportunity to join, because they were also affected by Booking.com's price restrictions. We are currently awaiting confirmation and clarity on the technical details for participation. An additional problem in our country is that Bulgaria does not have a national tourism advertising campaign, which makes the dependence on the platform very high – especially for small and medium-sized businesses. It is this vulnerability that is the reason why many of our hotels are not among the first to join. But our position is categorical – if our members wish, we will support them and protect their interests.
- What is the role of the platform on the Bulgarian market…
- The role of Booking.com on the Bulgarian market is extremely large. The dependence of hotels, especially small and medium-sized ones, is a fact, since Bulgaria does not have a national advertising campaign for tourism. The platform is often used as a kind of “initial advertising“ – through it, the hotel reaches a new client and presents itself to the international and domestic market. After that, the goal of every hotelier is for this guest to remain satisfied and become a loyal customer who will book directly on subsequent visits. Unlike us, in countries like Greece, where the national tourism budget is over 150 million euros, in Bulgaria it is only about 8 million leva.
In addition, we are in the queue for the absorption of European tourism funds,
which further strengthens the dependence of hotels on platforms for attracting customers.
- Hotels that have paid commissions to the intermediary in the period between 2004 and 2024 can join. Right…
- Hotels that paid commissions to Booking.com in the period 2004-2024 have the opportunity to join the class action through a specially developed online platform. At the moment, there are no Bulgarian hotels that have joined, but we are waiting for a response from the company that filed the lawsuit in order to understand the exact conditions for participation. If our members wish, as I have already mentioned, we will support them and protect their interest.
- This court case highlights the growing concerns about the market power of online travel agencies and digital platforms in the hotel sector. What is the dependence in the EU and in our country?
- The dependence of hotels on online travel platforms such as Booking.com is a serious problem both in Europe and in Bulgaria. In the EU, about 70% of reservations go through OTA platforms, with Booking.com holding a leading position. In countries with active national tourism strategies, hotels have more opportunities to reduce their dependence and encourage direct bookings, while in our country the situation is more vulnerable. As I have pointed out before, the lack of a national tourism strategy means that Bulgaria is not included in an effective plan for the recovery and development of the sector, which increases the dependence of hotels on platforms and reduces their ability to build a direct, loyal customer base.
- What are the problems?
- The problems include high commissions, limited access to customers and price restrictions imposed by OTAs, which limit the flexibility of hotels to offer different prices on different channels. In Bulgaria, due to the lack of a national advertising campaign, the dependence on Booking.com is particularly strong, especially for medium and small businesses.
The platform is actively used to initially attract customers, and then hotels seek to make these guests loyal and book directly for subsequent visits.
The European Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that the price parity clauses used by Booking.com distorted competition, which opened the possibility of collective actions.
This case highlights the growing concerns about the market power of digital platforms and the need for national strategies to reduce hotel dependence and stimulate the sustainable development of tourism in Bulgaria and the EU.
- The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the subsequent court case may also have an impact on other digital platforms that apply similar price restrictions. Are we heading towards a legal precedent…
- Yes, the CJEU decision and the subsequent class action against Booking.com could become a legal precedent. It shows that price parity clauses and other similar restrictions imposed by digital platforms can be challenged in court. If this is confirmed in practice, other online travel agencies and platforms will have to revise their terms, which will give hotels more freedom to set their prices and work directly with customers.