More than 10,000 hotels across Europe have launched a class-action lawsuit against Booking.com, seeking damages for alleged antitrust violations dating back two decades. The lawsuit follows a landmark 2024 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which found the platform’s “best price” clauses to be illegal.
These clauses prevented hotels from offering lower prices on other booking platforms or their own websites. The ECJ ruled that such practices restricted competition, breaching EU antitrust laws. Following the court’s decision and the enforcement of the EU’s 2024 Digital Markets Act (DMA), these clauses were abolished within the European Economic Area.
The case is being led by the Hotel Claims Alliance and is filed in the Netherlands, where Booking.com is headquartered. The effort has received strong backing from over 30 national hotel associations, including Germany’s IHA and Italy’s Federalberghi, and is coordinated by Hotrec, the European umbrella organization for hotels and restaurants.
“European hoteliers have long suffered from unfair conditions and excessive costs,” said Alexandros Vassilikos, President of Hotrec. “The industry will no longer tolerate abusive digital market practices.”
The class action seeks compensation for the years 2004 to 2024. Hoteliers argue that Booking.com’s former pricing restrictions stifled competition and hindered their ability to attract direct bookings. Markus Luthe, Executive Director of IHA, noted that the lawsuit has received “overwhelming support,” prompting an extension of the registration deadline to August 29.
Despite the legal battle, many hotels still depend on Booking.com for exposure and reservations. A 2023 study by Hotrec and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland Valais found that Booking Holdings held 71% of the online hotel booking market in Europe, and 72.3% in Germany. Over the past decade, direct bookings in Germany dropped by more than 8%.
