European Hotels Applaud EU Court Ruling Against Booking.com’s Price Parity Clauses

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Thursday that Booking.com cannot compel hotel owners to adhere to its price parity clauses under EU law. HOTREC, the European association representing hotels, restaurants, and cafés, applauded the court’s decision.

A parity clause is a contractual agreement that prohibits hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites than on Booking.com’s platform.

The case (C-264/23) was referred to the CJEU by the District Court of Amsterdam, which was handling a legal dispute between Booking.com and several German hotel companies. The central issue was whether Booking.com’s best price clauses — restricting hotels from offering lower rates on their websites — violated EU antitrust law.

While Booking.com argued that these parity clauses were lawful, the CJEU largely rejected the online platform’s stance, aligning with earlier rulings from German courts.

In its judgment, the Court stated that price parity clauses cannot generally be considered “ancillary restraints” under EU competition law.

The Court emphasized that while Booking.com’s services provide consumers with access to a wide range of accommodation options and price comparisons, it was not demonstrated that price parity clauses, whether broad or narrow, are either objectively necessary for the platform’s operation or proportionate to its intended objectives.

Furthermore, the Court noted that parity clauses could not only restrict competition among hotel reservation platforms but also risk pushing smaller platforms and new market entrants out of the industry.

Booking.com stated that it would issue a response to the ruling at a later date.

HOTREC: A big win for online accommodation market

HOTREC, the European association representing hotels, restaurants, and cafés, hailed the court’s decision as a “major victory for fairness and transparency in the online accommodation market.”

On social media, the association commented: “Today’s judgment in Case C-264/23 ensures legal certainty in Europe. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Booking.com is already designated as a gatekeeper platform. EU law bans parity clauses and imposes other significant obligations.”