HOTREC
Press release
The pan-European collective action against Booking.com, supported by HOTREC and more than 30 national hotel associations, for years of using anti-competitive best price clauses received an overwhelming positive response by the European hoteliers. Over 15,000 hotels from across Europe have registered at www.mybookingclaim.com to participate in the collective action by the Dutch “Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance“. Friday 29 August is the final deadline for hotels interested in participating to register.
The aim of the lawsuit before the Dutch courts is to enable hoteliers to recover the financial losses incurred as a result of Booking.com’s use of so-called rate parity clauses. Following the ruling of the European Court of Justice on 19 September 2024 (Ref: C-264/23), that these clauses violated EU competition law.
Alexandros Vassilikos, President of HOTREC, said: “The overwhelming response from European hotels to our call to join the collective action lawsuit proves that the hospitality industry is united and demands that the dominating gatekeeper change its market behaviour and take responsibility for its misconduct.”
The initiative was well received by hotels from all over Europe. The largest number of participants came from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Austria. In relation to the size of the hotel sector in each country, the collective action was particularly well received in Iceland, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Ireland. HOTREC will not publish further details on participation by country or region.
Marie Audren, Director General of HOTREC, explained the next steps: “Over the coming weeks, the data from the hotels will be consolidated and validated, and the statement of claim will be prepared. The aim is to file the collective action lawsuit with the Amsterdam District Court before the end of this year.”
Press contact: Jasper Dober, Media & Communications Manager, HOTREC – [email protected]
More information: www.mybookingclaim.com
