15,000 hotels sit against Booking.com: Now it is being sued!

15,000 hotels sit against Booking.com: Now it is being sued!

In a remarkable step, over 15,000 hotels from all over Europe took the initiative and joined a Europe -wide class action against the well -known travel portal Booking.com. The lawsuit aims to request compensation for financial losses due to the best price clauses. In the past, these clauses have prevented hotels from being able to offer cheaper prices directly on their own websites. Registration to participate in the "Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance" only runs until August 29, and many hoteliers hope for a positive judgment.

The lawsuit is supported by the European umbrella organization Hotrec and over 30 national hotel associations and is already active in Germany by around 2,000 hotels in parallel procedures before the Amsterdam district court and the Berlin District Court. A main focus is on the impending judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which is expected on September 19, 2024. The hotel associations put great hopes in the confirmation of the ECJ that the criticized clauses violate EU competition law.

background of the lawsuit

The best price clauses from Booking.com have significantly changed the competitive situation in the hotel sector. Hotels, which market their rooms via Booking.com, often had to offer higher prices on their own pages to avoid running board bookings. This not only led to uneven price structures, but also to financial losses for the hotels. According to the information from tagesschau.de, the topic became even more explosive by the ECJ judgment in autumn 2024, which classifies such price bonds as an antitrust legal right.

booking.com, on the other hand, sees itself as lawful and emphasizes that no competitive effects of the clauses could be demonstrated. Nevertheless, many hotel operators and associations are dissatisfied; You see the company as a competitive dominant, with a market share of 72.3 % in Germany and 71 % in Europe.

as it goes on

The class action lawsuit is negotiated before a Dutch court, where the headquarters of Booking.com is also. The legal framework for such collective requests could develop by [noerr.com] (https://www.noerr.com/de/insights/eugh-zulaessheit-von-kartell-and-and-effective protection). Efficiency in enforcing claims is crucial, and the principle of effectiveness states that injured party should effectively assert their claims in collective procedures.

Hope for damages for the period from 2004 to 2024 is given. More than just a legal discussion, the lawsuit is also an opportunity for the hotel industry to achieve good business for fair competitive conditions. In the coming weeks, everything will be prepared for submitting the application to the Amsterdam district court. Hoteliers from countries such as Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Austria are particularly solidarity in terms of this entrepreneurial action.

In the near future, it remains exciting to observe how the legal framework develops and whether the lawsuit actually exerts effective pressure on booking.com. The hotel industry can only hope that this initiative was not only a shot in the oven, but will also bring about the necessary rethinking in the industry.