Airbnb’s legal situation just got murkier, at least in the Netherlands, where a court ruled that the company illegally charged 15% booking fees to renters while collecting 3.6% from owners. Dutch law forbids a middleman from taking fees from both sides in a transaction.
The Amsterdam district court ordered Airbnb to return €470 in fees to the customer involved. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Nicolaas Huppes, told Dutch newspaper Het Parool that the ruling applies to all Airbnb rentals in the Netherlands, and that he is willing to represent any claimants—for a 30% fee.
Airbnb, however, says it will appeal the ruling, which could cost it up to €200 million in refunds on two grounds. First, it points out that other district courts in Rotterdam and Utrecht had dismissed similar claims, and second, it points to a recent European Court of Justice ruling that Airbnb is an online platform and not an agent.
Huppes refutes the first claim, pointing out that the Amsterdam ruling is in line with a 2015 Supreme Court decision that the rule against representing both sides does apply to real estate, specifically naming Airbnb as an example. It is not clear whether the EU court ruling would apply, since even as an ‘online platform’ it could be construed as an agent, even if not a real estate broker.
