More than 10,000 hotels across Europe are calling for compensation from Booking.com, as they see its "best price" clauses and a requirement to restrict accommodation establishments from offering lower prices than those quoted on the platform to be in violation of competition law.

Külli Kraner, CEO of the national hotel and restaurant association, told "Vikerhommik" that while Booking.com remains an important partner for Estonia's hotels and accommodation businesses, the market-distorting conditions it causes should go.

"I certainly believe that our hotels also see and consider it important that our market has balance and that equal competition is ensured," she said.
According to Kraner, joining the action against Booking.com is an individual decision for each business, while, due to confidentiality concerns, it is currently not possible to say exactly how many businesses in Estonia have joined the movement.

Hotels' initial acceptance of price-restricting rules as relating to Booking.com "took years" in Estonia, she added.

"The damages claim we are dealing with today goes back to the year 2004. As a new business model, it was very convenient both for customers and hotels, since on the one hand I could reliably book hotels, and on the other, I could get customer flow and visibility," she explained.

Hotels in Estonia have been able to join the initiative against Booking.com since May, with the deadline for joining up extended to August 29.

At the time the EU market may have lacked regulation and an awareness that such requirements could end up being harmful to competition; as of now, regulations on digital services and digital markets offered on such platforms have been in force for two years.

A final court decision may take years, Kraner's said, adding more clarity may arrive in the autumn.

Kraner added that the average commission fee on the Booking.com platform depends on the hotel and the contract it has, but generally is in the 15 percent–25 percent.

According to the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes in Europe HOTREC, which represents the industry within the EU, hotel owners will seek compensation for losses incurred between 2004 and 2024 as a result of so-called "best-price" clauses that keep hotels from offering rooms for less on their own sites. The initiative is also backed by 30 national hotel associations.

The suit is to be brought before a court in Amsterdam, where Booking.com is headquartered. The action is backed by HOTREC and 30 other hotel associations, and cites a September 2024 European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling which found best-price clauses illegal.

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