Approximately 200 Romanian hotels band together to initiate a joint lawsuit against Booking.com, accusing the company of price manipulation.
European Hotels Launch Landmark Lawsuit Against Booking.com
A collective lawsuit against Booking.com, involving over 10,000 hotels across Europe, including around 110 operators in Romania, is currently in preparation. This significant legal action aims to seek substantial compensation for alleged financial harm caused by Booking.com’s "best price" clauses over the past two decades [1][2][3].
The lawsuit, coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance, follows a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in September 2024. The ECJ declared that Booking.com’s best price clauses violate EU cartel laws (Article 101(1) TFEU). The judges found these clauses unnecessary for the platform’s operation and harmful to market competition [1][2].
The best price clauses, a practice that was declared illegal by the ECJ, prevented hotels from offering lower prices elsewhere, effectively inflating commissions by at least 30% over the 2004-2024 period [1][2]. The Federation of the Hotel Industry in Romania (FIHR) has joined this initiative, inviting all hotels in Romania to register to recover part of the commissions collected by Booking.com under the contractual clause known as the "parity clause" for the period 2004-2024 [4].
Representatives of the hotel employers' federation expect several hundred hotels from Romania to register for the lawsuit, with the support of the Romanian and European hotels [1]. The registration period for the lawsuit ends on August 29 [1].
Despite criticism, Booking.com remains indispensable for many hotels in reaching guests online. The hotel employers' federation has pledged to provide support to actors in the local hospitality industry to join the initiative [1].
Booking.com has publicly rejected the allegations, deeming them inaccurate and misleading, and contends that the claims lack merit [5]. The lawsuit is set to take place before a Dutch court, as Booking.com's headquarters are in Amsterdam.
As the lawsuit progresses, it continues to evolve, with ongoing participation from thousands of hotels including Romanian operators [1][2][3][5].
References
[1] European Commission. (2024). European Court of Justice rules that Booking.com’s best price clauses violate EU cartel laws. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_24_6134
[2] Booking.com. (2024). Booking.com abolishes best price clauses in Europe. Retrieved from https://newsroom.booking.com/bookingcom-abolishes-best-price-clauses-in-europe/
[3] Hotel Claims Alliance. (n.d.). Hotel Claims Alliance. Retrieved from https://www.hotelclaimsalliance.com/
[4] FIHR. (2024). FIHR joins a large-scale European lawsuit against Booking.com for alleged anti-competitive practices. Retrieved from https://fihr.ro/fihr-joins-a-large-scale-european-lawsuit-against-booking-com-for-alleged-anti-competitive-practices/
[5] Booking.com. (2024). Booking.com responds to allegations of anti-competitive practices. Retrieved from https://newsroom.booking.com/booking-com-responds-to-allegations-of-anti-competitive-practices/
- The landmark lawsuit, coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance and involving numerous European hotels, aims to seek compensation for alleged financial harm caused by Booking.com's best price clauses in the business and finance industries.
- The best price clauses, deemed illegal by the European Court of Justice, had a significant impact on the European hotels' industry, effectively inflating commissions by at least 30% over the 2004-2024 period.
