Hotels encouraged to join Booking.com lawsuit

The Icelandic Tourism Association is encouraging Icelandic hotels to participate in a class action lawsuit against the booking site Booking.com. This is stated in a statement from the association.

The Icelandic Tourism Association, the European interest group HOTREC and over 25 national associations of accommodation companies across Europe are now jointly filing a class action lawsuit against Booking.com.

The class action is based on the judgment of the European Court of Justice from September 19, 2024, which confirmed that Booking.com's so-called price parity clauses violated European Union competition law.

Icelandic hotels at a disadvantage

The background to the case is that between 2004 and 2024, Booking.com used anti-competitive terms that placed Icelandic hotels at a competitive disadvantage and caused significant financial losses to operators. The terms prevented price competition, led to abnormally high fees and limited the ability to sell accommodation directly to customers.

Under European competition law, operators have the right to claim compensation from Booking.com for this damage. The parties to the lawsuit estimate that it will be possible to recover a significant part of the fees paid to Booking.com during the period 2004–2024, plus interest.

In a statement from the Icelandic Tourism Association, Icelandic hotels are encouraged to participate in the lawsuit by registering on the website www.mybookingclaim.com.

“Participation in the lawsuit is free of charge and without legal risk. All costs are borne by the funder of the case and the same team of experts that was responsible for the judgment of the European Court of Justice will lead the case forward, lawyers,economists and experts with extensive experience in the field of competition law,” the statement says.

Very high amounts may be at stake

Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, chairman of the Icelandic Travel and Tourism Association, says that very high amounts may be at stake for hotels that decide to participate in a class action lawsuit against the booking service Booking.com.

The class action is based on a judgment of the European Court of Justice from September last year, which confirmed that Booking.com's so-called price parity clauses violated European Union competition law.

The background to the case is that between 2004 and 2024, Booking.com used anti-competitive terms that placed Icelandic hotels at a competitive disadvantage and caused significant financial losses to operators. The terms prevented price competition, led to abnormally high fees and limited the ability to sell accommodation directly to customers.

It makes perfect sense to participate

On Wednesday, a website went live where hotel owners can register to participate in the lawsuit, but Skúlason says he has no information on whether many Icelandic companies have already done so. When asked, he says he rather assumes that participation will be good.

“This is naturally the kind of case and lawsuit of such magnitude that it makes perfect sense for all hotels that meet these simple conditions, to have been registered on Booking.com between 2004 and 2024, to register and at least have a conversation with the implementation team in the lawsuit,” says Skúlason and adds:

“There can be very large amounts of money at stake for hotels, especially those that have been in operation for a long time and have used this service for years. Then these can be quite large amounts of money.”

Neither costly nor legal risk

Then Skúlason points out that there are neither costly nor legal risks involved in participating in the lawsuit.

"This is financed by the plaintiffs who will receive the portion of what the court decides if the case falls in favor of the hotels," explains Skúlason.

He then says that in addition to the financial benefit for the hotels, it also sends a strong message if many people participate in the class action.

"There are very few parties in this online booking market that have a lot of influence, and Booking.com is one of these parties that is in a dominant position. After this judgment of the European Court of Justice was handed down, it is clear that the company has used its dominant position against the European Union's regulatory framework, and on that basis, it is naturally of great importance that hotels and hotel associations throughout Europe come together and show that the accommodation market and companies stand together when it comes to defending their interests," says Skúlason.