European hoteliers unite to launch a massive lawsuit against Booking.com

The Spanish hotel industry's war on Booking.com is spreading to Europe. The continental employers' association Hotrec , of which the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation ( Cehat ) is a member, is preparing a major lawsuit to demand financial compensation from the online booking giant for the parity clauses that prevented hotels from selling through their own channels at prices below those offered on Booking.com . The joint action, which Cehat describes as "historic," follows the ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of September 19, 2024, which declared that these practices violated EU competition law.

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

The legal offensive is already underway. In Spain, Cehat has already signed a collaboration agreement with the law firm CCS Abogados so that its member companies can file claims against Booking.com BV (the US group's subsidiary based in the Netherlands) "for the damage caused by the use of these contractual clauses." The Spanish employers' association, part of the CEOE (Spanish Association of Workers' Parties), clarifies that claims in Spain will be made in coordination with those filed in the other European countries grouped under Hotrec.

In fact, as they explain, CCS Abogados will manage the claim in collaboration with the German law firm SGP Schneider Geiwitz , which "coordinates and leads" the European action, and which has already litigated against Booking since 2013 in different proceedings in Germany, the Netherlands and before the CJEU . Cehat points out that, for example, SGP sued Booking in 2021 on behalf of the German Hotel Association and on behalf of 2,000 hotel companies, and is responsible for the "successful" CJEU ruling that gives rise to these claims.

But Booking.com doesn't see it the same way . Sources from the platform in Spain claim they have not been informed of any legal action taken by hotels at the European level, and they emphasize that the conclusions drawn from the CJEU ruling, which Hotrec believes allows the company to be compensated, are "incorrect and misleading."

"The CJEU ruling specifically addresses questions posed by the Amsterdam District Court in connection with a dispute between Booking.com and certain German hotels, which challenged the legality of price parity clauses in Germany between 2006 and 2016. The court did not conclude that these parity clauses in Germany were anti-competitive or that they had an impact on competition. It will now be up to the Amsterdam District Court to make a specific decision solely on the German parity clauses," they argue.

The legal offensive by European hoteliers comes almost a year after the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) decided to impose the largest fine in its history on Booking.com, amounting to €413 million, for abusing its dominant position through practices such as the parity clause.

Booking.com appealed the fine in October of last year by filing an administrative appeal with the National Court. In March, the court granted the platform's request for an injunction to halt payment of the fine while the investigation continues.