European hoteliers unite to launch lawsuit and compensation claim against Booking.com

The Spanish hoteliers' war with Booking.com has escalated to Europe. The European employers' association Hotrec, of which the Spanish confederation of hotels and tourist accommodation (Cehat) is a member, is preparing a lawsuit to demand financial compensation from the online booking giant for its parity clauses, according to which hotels are not allowed to promote prices lower than those on Booking.com on their own websites. As Cehat describes it, this "historic" joint action follows the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) from 19 September 2024, which found these practices to be in breach of EU competition law.

The industry argues that the Luxembourg court ruling gives hotels across Europe the right to claim compensation from Booking.com for the "economic losses suffered" and to recover "a significant part of the commissions paid to Booking.com in any period between 2004 and 2024, plus interest". The hoteliers argue that these parity clauses have placed establishments at a "significant competitive disadvantage" over the past 20 years, preventing hotels from offering better prices or availability on their own websites, "limiting direct sales and autonomy".

The legal offensive is already getting under way. In Spain, Cehat has already signed a collaboration agreement with law firm CCS Abogados so that its associated companies can claim against Booking.com BV (the subsidiary of the US group based in the Netherlands) "for the damage caused by these contractual clauses". The Spanish employers' association has stated that claims in Spain will be made in coordination with claims in the other European countries that are part of Hotrec.

CCS Abogados will manage the claim in collaboration with German law firm SGP Schneider Geiwitz , which "coordinates and leads" the European action. SGP Schneider Geiwitz has been litigating against Booking since 2013, in different processes in Germany, the Netherlands and before the CJEU. One example is the successful lawsuit SGP launched against Booking.com in 2021, on behalf of the German hotel association and on behalf of 2,000 hotel companies.

Booking continues to hold a different interpretation of the case. Sources from the platform in Spain claim that they have not been informed of any legal action at European level, stating that the conclusions drawn from the CJEU ruling are "incorrect and misleading". According to the platform, Hotrec cannot claim financial compensation.

"The CJEU judgment specifically refers to questions raised by the Amsterdam district court in relation to a dispute between Booking.com and certain German hotels, which disputed the legality of price parity clauses in Germany between 2006 and 2016 - the court does not conclude that such parity clauses in Germany were anti-competitive or that they had an effect on competition. It will now be up to the Amsterdam court to make a specific decision on the German parity clauses only," Booking says.

The European hoteliers' legal offensive comes almost a year after Spain's competition regulator (CNMC) decided to impose the largest fine in its history (413 million euros) on Booking.com for abusing its dominant position through practices such as the parity clause.

The fine was appealed by Booking.com before the National High Court in October last year. In March, the court allowed a precautionary measure requested by the platform to put on hold the payment of the fine while the investigation continues.