Consumer assoc. starts mass claim against Booking.com for keeping hotel prices high
The Consumentenbond and the CCC foundation are starting a mass claim against Booking.com. According to the organizations, the popular booking site has kept hotel prices artificially high for years, resulting in millions of Dutch people paying more than they had to.
The organizations accuse Booking.com of abusing its power, misleading customers, and restricting fair competition. The damage can range from tens to several hundred euros per person. Consumentenbond, the Dutch consumers’ association, estimates that the total damage claim will amount to hundreds of millions of euros.
“Consumers have been paying too much for their hotel rooms for years. We have conducted research, and it shows that Booking.com has been violating competition rules and consumer law since January 2013,” said Bert Heikens, chairman of CCC. “Through illegal agreements and behavior, Booking.com ensured that hotels could not offer lower prices and better conditions. Various European regulators have also already determined that Booking.com acted unlawfully.”
According to Sandra Molenaar of the Consumentenbond, Booking.com also actively misled customers. “The platform uses fake discounts, incomplete prices, and invented scarcity,” she said. “With these kinds of ‘dark patterns,’ Booking.com influences the choices that consumers make. And that is not allowed according to Dutch and European regulations.”
The first step in the process is to gather victims. Anyone who booked at least one hotel room via Booking.com or a similar website since 1 January 2013 can register for the claim on the Consumentenbond website. People who also booked directly at the hotel may also be eligible.
The amount of damage will depend on the number of bookings, room prices, and the destination. Participants don’t have to pay anything in advance. Only if the claim is successful will up to 25 percent of the awarded amount be withheld to cover the legal fees.
