Booking.com faces mass claim from 1,326 Dutch hotels
The hotels want compensation for clauses that stopped them offering lower prices than the booking site. The European Court of Justice has ruled that these breach competition law. The case is expected in an Amsterdam court in 2027.
i
Illustrative photo: Ceescamel / CC BY-SA 4.0.jpg){kind=link}
A total of 1,326 Dutch hotels have joined a mass claim against Booking.com, the hospitality trade body Koninklijk Horeca Nederland (KHN) says. Earlier this week KHN announced that 18,135 hotels across Europe have signed up to the claim.
The hotels demand compensation for the damage caused by the booking site's clauses, which bar them from offering lower prices. They depend on Booking.com for their revenue. They say they want to decide for themselves which prices they charge and on which platforms they offer them.
In 2024 the European Court of Justice ruled that this practice violates competition law.
The district court (rechtbank) in Amsterdam is expected to hear the hotel case in 2027.
The hotel claim is separate from another mass claim against Booking.com. The Consumentenbond (the Dutch consumers' association) and the foundation Stichting Consumenten Competition Claims (CCC) took the booking site to court last November. Any compensation that case produces is meant for consumers.
More on business and companies · crime and the courts · the world with a dutch angle