Hotels in Europe to sue Booking.com over 'abusive' practices
16 days ago
- #legal
- #hospitality
- #competition
- Booking.com faces a class-action lawsuit from over 10,000 European hotels over alleged market distortion.
- The lawsuit, backed by Hotrec and 30 national hotel associations, claims financial losses due to Booking.com's 'best price' clauses.
- Hotels allege Booking.com pressured them not to offer lower prices elsewhere, including on their own websites.
- The legal action seeks damages from 2004 to 2024, following an ECJ ruling that found Booking.com's clauses violated EU competition law.
- Booking.com denies the allegations, stating the ECJ ruling did not deem its clauses anti-competitive but required case-by-case assessment.
- Despite criticism, Booking.com remains dominant, controlling 71% of the European market in 2024.
- Experts predict a lengthy legal battle, focusing on how damages can be measured.