Bringing European Hotels’ Claim to New York
As global hospitality leaders, including Booking.com’s CEO, Glenn Fogel, gathered in New York for the Skift Global Forum, SHCA were in Manhattan on behalf of 15,000 European Hotels to ask: what are you going to do about it, Glenn?
From 2004 to 2024, Booking.com’s use of parity clauses prevented hotels from offering lower rates on their own websites. This reduced direct competition, kept prices artificially high, and contributed to Booking.com’s market dominance. For two days, a truck drove around the conference centre carrying a direct message: while Booking.com profited, hotels paid.
Inside Skift, while Booking.com chief executive Glenn Fogel’s keynote speech discussed how hospitality players can gain a long-term competitive advantage, he failed to mention what Booking.com is doing about the circa 5 billion euros in antitrust liabilities the company is facing across Europe.
Dr. Volker Soyez, leading the claim on behalf of Europe’s hotels, said: “the collective action has received incredible support. Over 15,000 hotels have now joined the claim, and we estimate that the total damages will amount to several billion euros.”
For Booking.com, Europe is an essential source of revenue. Not to mention that the company’s AI-driven “connected trip” strategy depends on hotels sharing data, prices and availability. If hotels no longer trust Booking.com to act as a fair partner – they have a reason to seek other, more equitable partnerships.
At a time when AI is already pressuring the online travel agency model, it’s time for Booking.com to reconsider the terms on which it does business.
To find out more about the claim, reach out to the team at hello@mybookingclaim.com