European hotels Unite to Sue Booking.com over unfair practices

English , International - بین الاقوامی , Print Paper , / Monday, August 4th, 2025

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Sources Xinhua
THE HAGUE, Aug. 4 – More than 10,000 hotels from across Europe have joined a mass legal action against Booking.com, accusing the travel platform of unfair business practices that caused significant financial losses, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.
The hotels claim that Booking.com’s long-enforced pricing policies restricted competition and reduced their revenue. The lawsuit is supported by HOTREC, the European hospitality industry’s umbrella body, along with over 30 national hotel associations.
“European hoteliers have long suffered from unfair conditions and excessive costs,” said HOTREC Chairman Alexandros Vassilikos. “Now is the time to stand together and demand redress. This joint initiative sends a clear message that abusive practices in the digital market will not be tolerated.”
At the heart of the complaint are “best price” or parity clauses, which prevented hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites or through other booking platforms. These clauses, hotels argue, forced them to maintain higher prices and limited consumer choice.
According to HOTREC, the legal action remains open to more hotels. Due to strong interest, the deadline to join the collective case has been extended until August 29, 2025. The lawsuit will be filed in a Dutch court.
This follows a similar move in June by the Dutch consumer group Consumentenbond, which also accused Booking.com of inflating prices through misleading agreements and practices.
Booking.com has denied the accusations and stated it is reviewing the claims. The company says it will respond formally.
The platform is already under legal scrutiny. In July last year, a Spanish court fined Booking.com 413 million euros for similar pricing policies. The European Court of Justice later ruled that such parity clauses breach EU competition laws.