Thousands of European hotel owners have launched a class action lawsuit against Booking.com, accusing the platform of enforcing unfair pricing restrictions over a 20-year period.
Backed by more than 10,000 hotels and 30 national associations, including Germany’s IHA, the lawsuit aims to recover damages for losses incurred between 2004 and 2024 due to so-called “best-price” clauses imposed by the platform.
The complaint, coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance and supported by the EU-wide industry group HOTREC, will be filed in an Amsterdam court. It cites a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on September 19, 2024, which declared such clauses illegal, according to dw.com.
These terms had prohibited hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites or other platforms, favoring Booking.com’s pricing monopoly.
The now-abandoned clauses were originally introduced by Booking.com to curb what it called “free-rider” behavior — when users find hotels through the platform but book directly with the hotel. The company insisted this pricing parity protected its business model, but the ECJ and critics saw it as anti-competitive and restrictive for smaller hotel operators.
In response to the ruling and regulatory pressure under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Booking.com officially removed the clause in 2024.
However, hotel associations argue that the damage caused over the previous two decades was significant, leading to suppressed revenues and higher dependency on online platforms.
HOTREC President Alexandros Vassilikos stated that European hoteliers had “long suffered from unfair conditions and excessive costs” and welcomed the unity shown by the industry. “This joint initiative sends a clear message: abusive practices in the digital market will not be tolerated,” he said.
Booking.com, based in the Netherlands, said it has not yet received any official lawsuit and dismissed the allegations as a mischaracterization.
It stressed that hotel partners are “free to set their own distribution and pricing strategies” and can sell rooms wherever they choose. Nonetheless, the hotel industry has until August 29 to join the lawsuit, and support for the legal action continues to grow.
