Tourism industry: More than 15,000 hotels want to complain against booking.com

Europe’s hotel industry wants to bring the travel portal Booking.com to court. Until the deadline on August 29, more than 15,000 hotels from all over Europe have joined a class action lawsuit, as the European Hotel Alliance Hotrec report. The aim is to receive compensation for forced price ties between 2004 and 2024.

The lawsuit is coordinated by the “Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance”, supported by Hotrec and more than 30 national associations, including the German Hotel Association IHA. The application was to be submitted to the Amsterdam district court by the end of the year, said Hotrec. According to the lawsuit, hoteliers could receive up to 30 percent of the commissions paid plus interest.

Many hotels from Italy, followed by Germany

Most registrations come from Italy with around 3,000 hotels, followed by Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Austria, as the Italian Hotel Association of the Federal Berghi announced. According to IHA, around 2,000 hotels take part from Germany – in addition to a further 2,000 houses that lead against Booking.com in 2020 parallel proceedings in Amsterdam and Berlin.

The background is a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from autumn 2024. Accordingly, so-called best price clauses could violate EU competition law. These prohibited hotels to offer their rooms more cheaply on their own website, for example, to prevent so -called running board bookings. Finally, the case must clarify an Amsterdam court. The travel portal completed the clauses in 2024 because of the Digital Market Act.

Booking.com rejects allegations

Hotrec President Alexandros Vassilikos spoke of an “overwhelming response”. The hotel industry has been united and demands that “the dominant gatekeeper changes its market behavior and assumes responsibility for his misconduct”.

Booking.com rejected the allegations and explained that the ECJ judgment did not pave the way for claims for damages.