Bredin Prat obtains a favourable decision for Airbnb Ireland dismissing an unfair competition case filed against Airbnb by the leading hotelier trade union in France

After proceedings of six years, the Paris Tribunal de Commerce dismissed UMIH’s unfair competition claim against Airbnb, in a ruling dated 21 October 2024. UMIH is a trade union which represents most of the French players in the hotel industry.

In order to substantiate its claim, UMIH asserted that Airbnb had failed to comply with the legal rules governing its activity in France.

The main objective of UMIH’s proceedings was to seek from the Paris commercial court a series of injunctions which, if they had been granted, would have led to a profound change in the way Airbnb operates its online platform and would have resulted in very detrimental consequences for Airbnb.

The Paris commercial court’s ruling dismissed this argument and confirmed that Airbnb had not committed any wrongdoing – and more specifically no unfair practice. Consequently, the court fully rejected UMIH’s claim and, in doing so, highlighted that UMIH’s legal action was aimed at limiting Airbnb’s right to freely (i) provide its services and (ii) operate in France.

Airbnb was represented by Jean-Daniel Bretzner, Eve Duminy (partners), Samuel Daniau and Ariane Laburthe-Tolra from Bredin Prat’s litigation department.