Dutch court orders Booking.com to participate in travel sector pension fund

Travel accommodation firm Booking.com was ordered on Tuesday to join a pension fund for the travel industry. The company was opposed this, saying it considers itself to primarily be a technology platform, but the Court of Appeal in The Hague disagreed. The verdict, in line with more recent reasoning from the Supreme Court, overruled earlier decisions.

The parent company, Booking Holdings, has estimated that the additional cost will be about 405 million euros. Booking.com said it is investigating the possibilities to challenge the latest judgment.

The case was filed several years ago by pension fund Bpf Reisbranche, which believed that Booking.com was mainly active as an intermediary for travelers. As such, this makes the company a travel agent or tour operator, Bpf Reisbranche argued. Thus, it claimed Booking.com must also be obliged to participate in the pension fund for these types of companies.

Booking.com strenuously disagreed, arguing that it mainly offers a reservation platform. Although customers book via the company’s websites, Booking.com itself is not actively involved in the agreement between hoteliers and tourists.

But the Court concluded from Booking.com’s articles of association, website, annual financial statements and general terms and conditions that the company does indeed mediate in the online bookings of overnight accommodations. According to the Court, this also includes work on Booking.com’s information technology and software.

“Booking.com is therefore obliged to participate in the pension scheme of the travel industry,” the court ruled.

In response to the verdict, Booking.com now fears it will have problems attracting staff if it is tied to a fixed pension program. “As a global technology company, we believe that flexibility and autonomy are key to tailoring our total compensation package, including our pension plan, to the needs of our diverse and international workforce,” the company said.

Pension Fund PGB, the successor to Bpf Reisbranche, said it was “pleased that there now seems to be clarity in this matter for all involved.” The organization added, “We will study the judgment carefully and determine further next steps on the basis of it.”

The case has been dragging on for years. In previous rulings, the Amsterdam District Court and the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam sided with Booking.com. The pension fund then went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that Booking.com likely does act as a travel agent. It sent the case back to the Court of Appeal in The Hague to reassess the matter.