CCS Abogados participated in the 3rd Hotel Update 2025, organized by Hosteltur, where it addressed the collective recovery against Booking.com on behalf of 16,000 Spanish hotel companies associated with CEHAT.
During his presentation, Jaime Concheiro, partner at CCS Abogados, explained the details of the legal action brought in Spain by CEHAT (Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation) and in Europe by the European association HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants, Bars & Cafés in Europe), in coordination with the German law firm SGP Schneider Geiwitz, which is leading the class action lawsuit in 27 countries, for damages caused by Reserva.com's use of parity clauses.
"This initiative has been launched in all European countries following the recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union declaring the use of parity clauses illegal. Economic studies show that, if these clauses had not been used, the commission percentage charged by Booking.com to hotel companies would have been considerably lower than what they have been applying due to greater competition between online agencies.
Thousands of European hotel companies are joining the action led by HOTREC and managed by SGP." Schneider Geiwitz. This firm already represented the German Hotel Association (IHA) and 2,000 hotel companies that sued Booking.com in 2021 and obtained the recent ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The class action for CEHAT members, which will be processed in Spain, will be carried out alongside the European action, and we will have the direct participation of SGP Schneider Geiwitz. CEHAT members will be able to join the claim without having to pay any amount during the processing of the case and will be able to choose between filing a claim in the Netherlands or in Spain. For members who do not wish to sue Booking.com, there is the option of selling their right to claim and collecting payment for said sale. Full information can be found on the website www.sobrecostebooking.com.
This class action has nothing to do with the fine imposed by the CNMC on Booking.com. This is causing some confusion, and we must clarify that these are separate cases. The CNMC's sanction is not due to the use of parity clauses," said Jaime Concheiro.
The event brought together experts from the hotel industry, who analyzed the main challenges and trends in the market, from new business models to the impact of digitalization and changes in marketing.
At CCS Abogados, we thank Hosteltur for organizing the event and giving us the opportunity to share our experience in class action litigation within the hotel sector.
