In a decision on 18 May 2021, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) finally confirmed that so-called narrow best-price clauses applied by Booking.com BV (Booking.com) in Germany violate competition law. In doing so, it overturned a decision of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf) and confirmed an order issued by the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) in 2015 prohibiting such clauses.
Background
The hotel-booking platform Booking.com offers mediation services for hotel operators and consumers, enabling consumers to book hotels directly via its platform, with Booking.com receiving a commission for each such room booking. Since 2015, narrow best-price clauses had been used in Booking.com’s terms and conditions, which prohibited hotel providers from offering their rooms on their own website at a lower price than on Booking.com. However, on other online platforms and offline, as…
