The Berlin Regional Court ruled that Booking.com violated European competition law through the long-term use of price parity clauses and ordered it to pay compensation to more than 1,000 German hotels. The court found that these clauses do not constitute ancillary restraints and therefore fall under the prohibition of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Booking.com cannot invoke either limitation periods or the legality of the clauses as a competitive tool. The amount of compensation will be determined in subsequent proceedings, as the decision was delivered orally and has not yet been published in written form.
At the same time, similar lawsuits filed by approximately 300 hotels are pending before the Amsterdam District Court, with a ruling expected within the month. The Berlin decision is considered a guideline and gives additional momentum to the collective action brought by more than 15,000 European hotels (including around 1,000 Greek hotels) against Booking.com in Amsterdam.
It is recalled that the German Federal Cartel Office had already issued a cease-and-desist decision against these practices in 2015, which was upheld in 2021 by the countrys Federal Court of Justice.
In any case, the matter is taking on a broader European dimension and brings back to the forefront the discussion on the balance of power between digital platforms and hotel businesses, at a time when the sector is redefining the terms of cooperation in the digital marketplace.
