AEDH and ESKARIAM join forces to defend hoteliers’ rights against Booking.com B.V. after the CNMC’s historic fine  

Madrid, 31 July 2024

It is estimated that, following the CNMC ruling, more than 10,000 hotels may claim damages from Booking.com B.V. 

ESKARIAM has reached an agreement with AEDH to support the claims that the Spanish hotel sector -hotels, associations and other stakeholders- can bring for damages suffered due to the anti-competitive practices declared by the CNMC and is in contact with the other operators that have expressed their interest in claiming. 

The CNMC’s sanction, which stems from a 2021 AEDH complaint, aims to correct harmful conduct and ensure a more transparent and fairer competitive environment. 

The CNMC alleges that Booking.com B.V., which holds a dominant position in the online hotel booking market, has committed between 2019 and 2024 several infringements of the Antitrust Law by imposing unfair commercial conditions in its contract on hotels located in Spain, and restricting competition from other online travel agencies (OTAs). These conducts have seriously affected competition and revenues of hotel establishments in Spain for years.

More than 10,000 hotels impacted between 2019 and 2024

Any hotel, hotel complex, aparthotel or motel that has had a collaboration contract in force with Booking.com B.V. at any time between 2019 and 2024 can claim damages for the conduct recognised and sanctioned by the CNMC before the civil courts, protected by Law 15/2007 on the Defence of Competition and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 people affected who could claim compensation, the amount of which would depend on the agreed conditions, the hotel’s turnover and the number of years that could be claimed, among other factors. 

David Fernández, CEO of ESKARIAM assures that ‘thanks to the magnificent work of the regulatory body CNMC, the hotels harmed for years by the anti-competitive behaviour developed by Booking.com B.V., are now entitled to compensation for the damages suffered’. Eskariam’s CEO also recalls that ‘the travel platform is under close supervision of the European Commission following its designation as gatekeeper under the new Digital Market Act (DMA)’. 

Javier Zamora, lawyer who has defended the interests of the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers (AEDH) against the CNMC, indicates ‘the most relevant thing for the future is that the CNMC forces Booking to correct its behaviour towards hotels, clearly constituting an abuse of dominant position, and also eliminating a series of abusive clauses from its contracts. In addition, the CNMC warns that it will be vigilant. On the part of the AEDH, we will remain vigilant to ensure that this type of behaviour is not imposed again on Spanish hotels, warning the CNMC when our associates, the hotel managers, detect it’. 

Meanwhile, Manuel Vegas, president of the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers, said that ‘we are pleased with this result because when no one dared to raise their voice against BOOKING, we had to be the ones to step forward and denounce the practices suffered by Spanish hoteliers. Then others followed our lead, helping to prove the objective reality of Booking’s unacceptable anti-competitive behaviour towards Spanish hotels. The result is that the Spanish tourism industry is a little better from now on: more competitive, above all’.