Claims against Booking.com: parity clauses and hotel claims
Booking.com, based in Amsterdam, used price parity clauses that stopped hotels offering lower prices elsewhere. In September 2024 the Court of Justice of the EU ruled (case C-264/23) that such clauses are not, in principle, an ancillary restraint exempt from competition law. Hotels in several countries have since brought or announced damages claims.
- Hotel damages claims
- Hotels have claimed that parity clauses kept commissions and room prices higher than they would otherwise have been. The CJEU ruling answered questions referred by a Dutch court in a dispute brought by German hotels.
- Group claims
- Associations and funded claim vehicles have organised group claims for hotels in several European countries. Check their terms and the period they cover.
- Deadlines
- Limitation depends on the country where the claim is brought and on when the hotel knew of the infringement. Clauses differed by country and period (wide and narrow parity), so dates matter. Get the dates of your contract and of any clause changes checked early. Indicative period in Netherlands (non-contractual damages (tort)): 5 years (from knowledge).
Frequently asked questions
Can guests claim against Booking.com for parity clauses?
The claims brought so far are by hotels, which paid the commissions. Guests' claims would be much harder to prove.
Does the CJEU ruling decide the damages?
No. It answered questions of competition law; national courts decide whether there was an infringement in each case and how much damage it caused.