Press Statement 1/2026

Earlier this week, SƟchƟng Hotel Claims Alliance (SHCA) successfully iniƟated mulƟple preliminary
evidence-gathering measures relaƟng to its acƟon against Booking.com.
On Friday, 1 May 2026, the Amsterdam District Court granted, upon SHCA’s request, leave to aƩach
– and thereby prevent concealment of – inter alia all the invoices which have been issued by
Booking.com to thousands of hotel partners across Europe prior to 2018. On 4 May 2026, the bailiff,
supported by IT specialists, commenced the levying of the aƩachment at the premises of
Booking.com’s headquarters in Amsterdam.
At the same Ɵme, SHCA has filed a discovery applicaƟon with the Amsterdam District Court to get
access to the relevant data and informaƟon. SHCA has also requested Booking execuƟves to be heard
in a preliminary witness hearing in order to get clarity about what Booking did with the evidence
and why it did so.
Background: SHCA has brought a pan-European collecƟve damages acƟon against Booking.com. The
first set of main proceedings was iniƟated on 31 January 2026 and formally filed with the Amsterdam
District Court on 6 May 2026. HOTREC – the European umbrella associaƟon for the hotel sector –
and more than 30 naƟonal hotel associaƟons across Europe support this iniƟaƟve. More than 15.000
hotels from all over Europe have registered for parƟcipaƟon. The acƟon aims to obtain
compensaƟon for financial losses which Booking.com inflicted on European hoteliers by imposing
anƟ-compeƟƟve best price clauses and charging supra-compeƟƟve commissions.
In – what seems to be – an aƩempt to undermine the enforcement of the hotels’ damages claims,
Booking.com has – at some point in or around 2025 and without prior noƟce – cut off the hotels’
access to historical invoices. UnƟl that point in Ɵme, these invoices were fully accessible by hotels
through their Booking.com extranet accounts. What is more, financial details from the relevant
transacƟons are sƟll available through the Booking.com plaƞorm to travelers that stayed in those
hotels prior to 2018.

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At the same Ɵme, Booking.com argues that hotels need to submit such invoices to substanƟate their
individual damages claims. And indeed, these invoices may consƟtute an important input factor for
the determinaƟon by SHCA’s compeƟƟon economists of what Booking.com (over)charged the
hotels.
Against this backdrop, on 29 April 2026, SHCA’s lawyers filed a peƟƟon for the aƩachment of
evidence with the Amsterdam District Court, aimed at preserving inter alia the relevant invoices.
Two days later, on 1 May 2026, the court granted the requested leave, and on Monday 4 May the
bailiff instructed by SHCA commenced the levying of the aƩachment.
With this successful iniƟaƟve, SHCA has prevented Booking.com from concealing the hotels’
historical invoices. SHCA is now seeking disclosure of the relevant data and informaƟon, so that it
may be used for the enforcement of the hotels’ damages claims in the main proceedings against
Booking.com, which are now officially before the Amsterdam District Court.

SƟchƟng Hotel Claims Alliance (SHCA) is a non-for-profit foundaƟon under Dutch law, with its
corporate seat at Hoogoorddreef 15, 1101BA Amsterdam, Netherlands. SHCA is registered with the
Netherlands Chamber of Commerce under RSIN 868022937 and in Germany with the Legal Services
Register of the Federal Office of JusƟce under 2025 0000 8247.