**EU Court Rules Against Booking.com’s Price Parity Clauses, Citing Competition Concerns**
**BRUSSELS, Sept 19 (Reuters)** – The European Union’s top court has ruled that Booking.com’s practice of restricting hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites or on competing platforms is unnecessary and could hinder competition. However, the court also clarified that these restrictions do not violate EU competition laws.
The ruling, delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), targets a common industry practice known as “parity clauses,” which are included in contracts between online booking platforms and hotels. These clauses have been the subject of complaints from competitors and have drawn scrutiny from regulators across Europe, who argue that they may harm consumers.
While Germany’s antitrust authority has banned such clauses across all platforms, the EU allows them only when applied to hotels’ own websites. The EU’s **Digital Markets Act**, which came into effect last year, prohibits large online platforms like Booking.com from using these clauses.
The CJEU found no justification for the use of price parity clauses, stating that they are neither necessary for the operation of Booking.com’s business model nor proportionate to the objectives they aim to achieve. The court noted that such clauses could reduce competition among hotel reservation platforms, potentially pushing out smaller competitors and new entrants, while not being essential for Booking.com’s economic viability.
However, the court stopped short of declaring the clauses anti-competitive under EU law. “Price parity clauses cannot, in principle, be classified as ‘ancillary restraints’ for the purposes of EU competition law,” the court said.
The case originated after Booking.com, a subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc (BKNG.O), sought a legal declaration on the validity of parity clauses. A Dutch court referred the matter to the CJEU for guidance.
The case is officially titled **C-264/23 Booking.com and Booking.com (Deutschland)**.
*Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Barbara Lewis*
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**About the Author:**
Foo Yun Chee is a seasoned journalist with over two decades of experience at Reuters. She specializes in European antitrust laws and has reported on major mergers and investigations involving tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Apple. Foo Yun Chee has also covered Greek politics and Dutch corporate affairs.
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Source: reuters.com