Huge class lawsuit: 15,000 hotels demand compensation from Booking.com!

Huge class lawsuit: 15,000 hotels demand compensation from Booking.com!

A lot is happening in the hotel industry at the moment: Over 15,000 hotels in Europe are horrified by Booking.com's practiced best price clauses and have come together to form a massive class action. This lawsuit is coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance Foundation and aims to demand compensation for financial losses that Hoteliers have suffered since 2004. The judgment of the European Court of Justice of September 19, 2024 has made it clear that these clauses violate the EU's competition law.

What do these clauses do? They prevent hotels from offering cheaper offers on their own websites. A fact that has not only affected the price setting, but also the competition. The initiative for the lawsuit was supported by over 30 national hotel associations, including the Germany Hotelverband Germany (IHA), and goes back to long -awaited demands. In fact, hotels in Europe have suffered a financial disadvantage through the best price clauses and may now be able to reclaim up to 30 % of the commissions paid to Booking.com, including interest.

lawsuit requires quick decisions

The deadline for registration in this class action ends today, on August 29, 2025. This period has been extended to achieve as many affected people as possible. In the last few weeks before the deadline, there is a lively hustle and bustle among the hoteliers who join together to assert their claims. The greatest participation comes from countries such as Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Austria, while smaller markets such as Iceland and Liechtenstein also have high number of participants in relation to the size of the company.

booking.com himself has declared that he had not received any official legal notification of the lawsuit. The company claims that since 2016 there are no longer any pricing clauses in Germany. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether this increased participation in the class action also results from the numerous symptoms of hotel operators who feel unfairly treated due to the clauses.

The economic effects at an overview of

booking.com has a market share of 72.3 % in Germany and continues to accelerate its growth. In the second quarter of 2023, sales increase from 16 % to $ 6.8 billion was reported. Despite these successes, there is a real annoyance among the hoteliers about the economic conditions that Booking.com has created. The lawsuit could not only change the dynamics within the company, but also the image of the booking platform itself, which has become the dominant force in the European hotel business in recent years.

The hoteliers agree: The processes around parity clauses have significantly affected the direct bookings, which resulted in a decline of over 8 % in Germany in the past ten years. A circumstance that will certainly be observed in the future - especially if the hotels are assigned claims for damage. This could not only influence Booking.com's strategy, but possibly also the way in which future online platforms negotiate with hotels.

It remains to be seen how the legal disputes develop and to what extent the hoteliers can benefit from this lawsuit. However, one thing is clear: the legal dispute over Booking.com is anything but a leaking topic, and the hoteliers are closed in the hope of justice.