Booking.com has already warned that it will "exhaust all legal avenues to defend its rights," according to HOSTELTUR tourism news, arguing that its relationship with hotels has always been "mutually beneficial and balanced." However, CCS Abogados, a law firm specializing in class action lawsuits selected by CEHAT (Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation) within the framework of the European HOTREC initiative, believes that the CJEU ruling prohibits the use of parity clauses and that their use results in harm. In the words of its managing partner, Jaime Concheiro, "we don't know if the harm will be quantified at 30% or 50% of the commissions improperly paid all these years, but we are certain that there is harm and we will win." However, they want to make it clear that the legal steps they are going to take "have nothing to do with the CNMC fine."
These are the clarifications regarding this case that Jaime Concheiro has addressed.
What are the deadlines?
As the managing partner of CCS Abogados explained, "the initiative in Spain is part of the European project led by HOTREC, but with a unique feature in our country, since the judicial deadlines in these cases here are faster than in Europe, even if we are defending the same thing, we will go to the Spanish courts to expedite their response." In any case, the defense machinery for hoteliers in the Old Continent will begin to operate in May or June.
What options do hoteliers have who want to sue?
Given this unique situation, CCS Abogados offers three options to hoteliers who want to claim damages from Booking.com: they can join the European lawsuit or opt for the faster Spanish initiative. However, they also offer a third alternative, "as many hotels are reluctant to sue, in many cases, their main distribution channel. Thus, they can assign their rights to a litigation fund that will file the claims, after paying them a symbolic amount of €500. At the end of the process, they can obtain the same compensation as those who have sued us directly."
How much does it cost?
Those who decide to file a claim against Booking.com only have to pay the filing fee of €300, without assuming any risk. If the case is successfully closed, CCS Abogados keeps 30% of the compensation. If they lose, the hotelier does not have to bear any costs, although "we do not consider this option."
How many hotels have already joined?
Concheiro confirmed to this newspaper that some 360 hotel companies have already registered on its platform, although he acknowledges that "despite having the first major chain registered, these companies take longer to make such a decision. In addition, some have trusted law firms with whom they prefer to address this situation, or they will do so internally. But many are also afraid of sharing sensitive data, and some have even told us they are very interested in doing so but don't want to be the first major one to join the initiative."
When will the first lawsuits be filed?
The managing partner of CCS has announced that "we want to have the first lawsuits by the beginning of 2026, and the idea is to file one per province, where there is a critical mass, with the major ones filing separately, because then in the appeals, they will all be consolidated before the Supreme Court."
Source: Hosteltur.
