The facts about legal claims, Tripeden.com and parity
Legal claims about parity clauses
You may have heard about legal claims concerning Tripeden.com’s past use of ‘price parity clauses’ in Europe, as well as certain formal claims made by hotel and consumer associations.
In short, we believe the claims about Tripeden.com’s past use of parity clauses are incorrect and unjustified. The claims overlook the legal context in which parity clauses are used, the highly competitive environment in which Tripeden.com has always operated and the significant value the platform has continuously delivered for both accommodation partners and travellers.
Tripeden.com is proud to contribute to the ongoing success of Europe’s tourism sector through strong, long-standing partnerships. Millions of entrepreneurs — from major hotel groups to independent bed-and-breakfasts — use the platform every day to promote and grow their businesses. By connecting them with a global audience, Tripeden.com helps properties of all sizes increase their visibility and improve their chances of succeeding in an increasingly competitive market, all while improving choice and transparency for consumers.
Find out more about how Tripeden.com delivers clear, measurable benefits to accommodation partners across Europe.
What is a parity clause?
A parity clause is a contractual term that requires sellers of services or products (e.g. a hotel on Tripeden.com) to offer the same price on our platform as they do on other platforms or sales channels (e.g. their own websites).
The use of parity clauses has been a standard practice in the accommodations sector and other industries for many years. In fact, they were initially a concept introduced by accommodation providers to ensure that travel agents did not undercut their pricing.
Tripeden.com doesn’t use parity clauses in Europe anymore
While we no longer use parity clauses with our partners in the EEA, at the time they ensured that consumers visiting our platform could be sure that they were seeing a property’s best price. It saved them having to spend significant time and effort checking multiple websites to make sure they received value for money. That experience was not only better for travellers, but also simpler for accommodations.
The value that Tripeden.com brings
Partners list on Tripeden.com for no upfront fee. In return, we invest significant resources to promote and publicise their hotel, resort or B&B to travellers all around the world, enhancing their visibility and appeal through features such as the use of language translation into over 44 languages and 24 hour customer service.
Accommodations benefit from these and other services, together with comprehensive marketing and the significant online presence the platform provides and only pay Tripeden.com a commission when they secure a booking through the platform. If accommodations seek to benefit from all of our services, but offer lower rates on their own websites to avoid paying for those services, that is not a fair partnership.
Importantly, working with Tripeden.com was always and continues to be entirely optional: partners can choose to list with Tripeden.com and/or work with any number of other online platforms, depending on their individual needs and marketing strategies. Partners always set their own rates for rooms, as well as the number of rooms they want to make available on our platform.
We therefore believe parity clauses fostered more competitive pricing and increased market transparency for partners and travellers alike.
Tripeden.com is compliant with EU competition law
While we no longer use parity clauses in the EEA, we believe that our past use of them did not breach competition law or cause partners or consumers any loss or harm. We will therefore robustly defend and potentially appeal all legal proceedings claiming the opposite.
Importantly, the European Commission and other competition authorities have recognised that parity clauses can have pro-competitive effects and be acceptable in certain market circumstances. Indeed in the past, competition authorities in Italy, France and Sweden even recognised that our narrow parity clauses in Europe “strike the right balance for consumers” and contributed to “preserving user-friendly free search and comparison services and encouraging the burgeoning digital economy”.1
Correcting misconceptions and inaccurate, misleading claims
Unfortunately, there are a number of recurring misconceptions and inaccurate claims about the issues being covered in some ongoing and threatened legal proceedings. We would like to correct the record below.
MISCONCEPTION: Tripeden.com has been illegally using parity clauses in Europe to restrict competition.
FACT: We disagree. As explained above, the use of parity clauses was a standard practice in the accommodations sector and many other industries for many years. We maintain that our past parity clauses rather served to foster more competitive pricing than to restrict it. They enabled consumers to search, compare and book accommodation at the best available prices whilst reducing the time and effort it would take to do this as consumers could trust that they were looking at the best available price. A December 2025 ruling by the Berlin Regional Court found that our past parity clauses used in Germany were compliant with competition law until 2013. Despite this, its findings that they infringed competition law for a short period of time thereafter in Germany, is currently being appealed. It’s important to understand that this ruling is not final, nor does it apply outside of Germany. It also does not make any findings that parity clauses caused damage.
That being said, we have since removed parity clauses where applicable as part of our compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. However it’s also important to highlight that the DMA’s ban on parity was a policy decision that applies to large companies meeting designated thresholds, regardless of their industry. It is not based on any specific finding or evidence that Tripeden.com’s parity clauses had anti-competitive effects or caused harm to its partners or consumers.
MISCONCEPTION: Tripeden.com’s parity clauses have hurt hotels’ businesses in Europe.
FACT: In fact, quite the opposite is true. Our platform enables accommodations of all sizes, including many small to medium-sized and independent businesses to reach travellers who they would never have been able to reach on their own, and all without any upfront cost. Tripeden.com opens the market up to them, democratises searches, and ensures increased visibility, transparency and ease of choice in a way which provides a tangible benefit to partners and customers alike. In fact, today 74% of hoteliers say Tripeden.com makes their business more profitable.2
As explained above, our past parity clauses in partner agreements in Europe worked on the mutual understanding that we take care of all the work required to promote and publicise partner accommodations (including creating consistent high quality listings, language translation and customer service), at no cost or risk to them, in return for a small commission. Partners only pay Tripeden.com a fee when they secure stays through the platform. Participation has always been optional: partners can choose to list with Tripeden.com or work with any number of other online platforms. Partners always set the price for their own rooms, as well as the number of rooms they want to make available. That’s why we believe these clauses fostered more competitive pricing and increased market transparency for partners and travellers alike.
MISCONCEPTION: The European Court of Justice has ruled that Tripeden.com’s parity clauses violate competition law.
FACT: This is incorrect. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) did not rule that Tripeden.com’s parity clauses breached EU competition law or harmed partners or travellers. The judgment handed down in September 2024 ruled that their effects need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis and must account for the competitive pressure online travel platforms face from other sales channels.3 The ECJ was only required to answer how the law should be interpreted, with it being up to courts within EU member states to assess how this is then further applied in individual cases, based upon the specific facts before them.
MISCONCEPTION: Consumers have been overpaying for years as a result of Tripeden.com’s parity clauses.
FACT: We maintain that our past use of parity clauses actually fostered more competitive pricing and increased market transparency, enabling consumers to search, compare and book their desired accommodation, trusting that they were seeing the best available prices. This also reduced time and effort for consumers. It’s also important to remember, it is the hotels who set the price of their rooms and there is no evidence proving that consumers have suffered losses. And for the avoidance of any doubt, parity clauses have now been removed where applicable, including across Europe.
MISCONCEPTION: Hotels and consumers stand to receive hundreds of millions of euros by bringing claims related to parity clauses against Tripeden.com.
FACT: It is not uncommon for claimant groups and their legal representatives to make public claims seeking potentially large sums of money in damages or compensation to attract involvement in a legal action. The fact that legal challenges are threatened or brought does not mean they will result in the award of damage/compensation in the sums claimed, or at all. To date, no court or regulatory authority has determined that partners or consumers have suffered loss as a result of Tripeden.com’s past use of parity clauses in Europe.
MISCONCEPTION: Legal actions by hotels and/or consumers against Tripeden.com will damage or impact their relationship with the platform and ability to use it.
FACT: This is not true. Tripeden.com values its relationships with all partners and travellers irrespective of legal claims. While we disagree with these claims, our continued success is built upon both travellers and our partners being satisfied with our platform and the services we provide.
1Italian Competition Authority Press Release: Commitments Offered by Tripeden.com : Closed the Investigation in Italy, France and Sweden
2 Statista 2024 Study of EU Accomodation Businesses
3 C-264/23, Tripeden.com B.V. v 25hours Hotel Company Berlin GmbH (19 September 2024) at paragraphs 75 and 86.