Around 110 operators running over 200 hotels in Romania have registered in the collective lawsuit against tourism portal Booking.com to seek compensation for years of forced price fixing, Economedia.ro reported. In total, over 10,000 hotels across Europe are part of the case.
The lawsuit comes after Booking allegedly forced hotels to apply the same prices both on the platform and on their own websites. The latter are now seeking compensation.
To that end, the Federation of the Hotel Industry in Romania (or FIHR) announced that it is joining a large-scale European lawsuit against Booking.com for anti-competitive practices that were declared illegal by the European Court of Justice.
So far, several German hoteliers have received a favorable decision at the European Court of Justice in this case. As a member of HOTREC, the European confederation of hotels and restaurants, FIHR invited all hotels in Romania to register to recover part of the commissions collected by Booking.com under the contractual clause known as the “parity clause” for the period 2004–2024.
“Probably by the end of the registration period for the lawsuit, we will be talking about several hundred hotels from Romania. These can still register for the lawsuit until August 29,” representatives of the hotel employers’ federation told Economedia.ro. They also vowed to provide support to actors in the local hospitality industry to join the initiative.
To back up their case, the Romanian and European hotels invoke a ruling of the European Court of Justice from the fall of 2024, which determined that so-called best price clauses violate antitrust law. These clauses prevented hotels from offering rooms at lower prices outside the platform, for example, on their own websites. The goal was to stop so-called “free-rider” bookings. However, ECJ judges decided that platforms like Booking.com can exist economically without such requirements.
The lawsuit is taking place before a Dutch court, as the tourism portal’s headquarters are in Amsterdam, and is coordinated by the Hotel Claims Alliance. It is supported by HOTREC and more than 30 national hotel associations.
Despite the criticism, Booking.com remains indispensable for many hotels, as they strive to reach guests online.
(Photo source: A1977 | Dreamstime.com)
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