Hotels in Andalucia could win almost €1billion from a class action suit against Booking.com, it has emerged.
The region was among the hardest hit by the so-called ‘parity clauses’ that the reservation platform imposed on Spanish hotels for two decades – before they were outlawed.
According to calculations by Eskariam, a legal firm specialising in complex litigation, hotels in the region could claim around €1 billion in damages. Nationwide, the figure could surpass €4 billion.
Eskariam’s CEO, David Fernandez, and COO, Juan Alvarez, told El Conciso in Sevilla that their analysis, carried out with international economic consultancy Compass Lexecon, focused on the real financial impact of the removal of these clauses.
The results indicate a preliminary loss of between 1.65% and 2.12% of annual hotel revenues during the years each contract with Booking was in force.
For example, a hotel with an annual turnover of €5 million, working with Booking for a decade and incurring average administrative costs, could be entitled to claim around €750,000 plus interest – pushing the final amount above €1 million.
Collective action in 2026
The firm stressed that misinformation has been widespread, with many hotels unaware they have a five-year window in which to file a claim. Eskariam plans to launch its first collective lawsuit in the first quarter of 2026, with the adhesion period running through the remainder of this year. It expects more than 500 hotels to sign up.
‘A significant number of hotels have already placed their trust in us and are in the process of joining the claim. The aim is to build a collective action that provides strength and unity for the sector against Booking,’ the Eskariam directors said.
The firm is offering its services on a no-win, no-fee basis, covering all litigation costs upfront. If successful, it would take a 25–30% commission. ‘We have prior legal and economic validation and the backing of prestigious firms, which allows us to offer hotels both security and confidence,’ Fernandez and Alvarez added.
Wider impact on the sector
The lawyers also emphasised that the removal of parity clauses affects far more than just the commission hotels paid Booking. It has also distorted room sales across all channels, restricted hotels’ ability to raise prices, and limited their negotiating power to reduce commission rates.
‘We are informing all hotels and tourist accommodation of their right to claim because this has directly affected their sales volume, their pricing flexibility and their negotiating leverage,’ Eskariam concluded.
What is a parity clause?
A parity clause, sometimes called a rate parity clause, is a contractual condition that online booking platforms such as Booking.com or Expedia had long imposed on hotels. It essentially prevents hotels from offering cheaper prices or better booking conditions on any other channel, including their own websites.
In practice, this meant that if a hotel agreed to sell rooms on Booking at a certain price, it could not undercut that price elsewhere. Even if the hotel wanted to attract direct bookings through its own site, it was obliged to keep the same rate as on Booking, or risk being penalised, pushed down in search results, or even removed from the platform.
The effect was significant. For hotels, it restricted their freedom to set prices and reduced their negotiating power, forcing them to accept higher commission costs over time. For customers, it meant fewer opportunities to find lower prices outside Booking. Regulators across Europe eventually began to view parity clauses as anti-competitive, and in recent years many countries, including Spain, have moved to restrict or prohibit them.
It is for these reasons that legal actions, like the one being prepared in Andalucia, argue that hotels have suffered major financial harm during the years these clauses were enforced.
