Confirmation of online bookings: European Court of Justice clarifies what the consumer needs to know

When can a booking be considered as finalised when buying online? The European Court of Justice delivered an important judgement on the validity of contracts by electronic means on 7 April to clarify this issue.

The case was brought to the European Court of Justice by a local German court following a dispute between a hotelier and a consumer regarding the validity of a contract concluded via Booking.com. After a no-show, the consumer contested the payment of cancellation fees to the hotel despite having clicked on the ‘I’ll reserve’ button and entered personal details before clicking on a button labelled with the words ‘complete booking’.

The local court asked the Court of Justice whether the formulation ‘complete booking’ is a formulation ‘corresponding’ to the words ‘order with obligation to pay’: should only the words that appear on that button be taken into account, or should the overall circumstances of the ordering process also be taken into consideration?

The ECJ ruled that, according to Directive 2011/83, 1 where a distance contract is concluded by electronic means through an ordering process and entails an obligation on the part of the consumer to pay, the trader must, first provide that consumer directly before the placing of the order with the essential information relating to the contract and, secondly, explicitly inform that consumer that, in placing the order, he or she is bound by an obligation to pay.

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08 Sep
08/09/2023    
09:00 - 13:00
List of Participants Ms. Olga Kefalogianni, Greek Tourism Minister, will join us during the morning for an exchange (timing will be confirmed later) Draft Agenda [...]
Together for EU Tourism (T4T) stakeholder meeting
11/09/2023    
09:00 - 13:00
On 11 September 2023, the European Commission (DG GROW) will organise the first stakeholder event to support the co-implementation of the Transition Pathway for Tourism. This will be a hybrid event, taking place in Brussels and online.
Social Affairs Working Group meeting
12/09/2023    
10:00 - 12:00
On 12 September 2023, HOTREC will organise another meeting of its Social Affairs Working Group.
Members session on HOTREC European elections manifesto
14/09/2023    
10:00 - 12:00
On 14 September 2023, HOTREC will organise a members-only session to discuss the upcoming European Elections (June 2024). 
HOTREC Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee meeting
18/09/2023    
09:30 - 13:00
On the morning of 18 September 2023, HOTREC will organise another meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue (SSD) Committee. 
HOTREC Short-Term Rentals (STRs) Working Group meeting
21/09/2023    
10:00 - 11:30
On 21 September 2023, HOTREC will organise another meeting of its Short-Term Rentals Working Group.
Social Dialogue reform - meeting with European Commission
27/09/2023    
09:30 - 12:00
On 27 September 2023, HOTREC, together with other social partners representatives, will meet wit the European Commission to discuss the future organisation of the Social [...]
Working Group on Restaurants, Bars, Cafés & Late-nights: 28 September 2023
28/09/2023    
10:00 - 11:30
New information now available: link to register & draft agenda of the meeting.
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