European Union: Issued CJEU ruling in lawsuit into Booking over questions about wide and narrow parity clauses (Case C-264/23)

On 19 September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a judgment regarding the compatibility of Booking.com's price parity clauses with EU competition law (Case C-264/23). The case arose from Booking.com's action seeking validation of its price parity clauses, which prevent hotel establishments from offering lower prices through other sales channels than on Booking.com. The Court found that both wide and narrow price parity clauses used by Booking.com do not meet the criteria of being objectively necessary for the platform's operation nor proportionate to the objectives pursued, thereby potentially reducing competition among hotel reservation platforms and disadvantaging small or new entrants. This ruling follows previous determinations by German courts and the Federal Cartel Office, which opposed the clauses on similar grounds.