How does parity work?

Highlight: Booking.com applies different parity regimes depending on where properties are located. In addition to the below details, complete information on parity can be found in the General Delivery Terms (GDTs).

Based on the country where a property is located, Booking.com will apply one of the following parity regimes:

• No parity: This means that the accommodation partner has no specific obligation vis-a-vis Booking.com regarding the rates, conditions, and availability it provides on the Booking.com platform compared to other (online and offline) channels.
• Narrow parity: This means that the accommodation partner should provide Booking.com with the same or better rates and conditions for the same accommodation with (at least) the same features, as made available by the accommodation partner on its own online channels.
• Wide parity: This means that the accommodation partner should provide Booking.com with the same or better rates, conditions, and availability for the same accommodation with (at least) the same features, as made available by the accommodation partner on any (online and offline) channel. 

Refer to article 2.2. of our General Delivery Terms (GDTs) for the full wording on the parity clause. In case of any discrepancies between this explanatory note and the parity clause in the GDTs, the parity clause in the GDTs prevails. More info on your GDTs can be found here.

The rationale for parity, as included in clause 2.2 of the GDTs, is as follows:

(...) Booking.com undertakes investments to attract guests to and enable them to compare accommodations on its platform. Accommodations set the prices on our platform. The parity clause aims to ensure that rates and conditions posted on our platform are competitive, so guests can benefit from lowered search costs, and to prevent an accommodation from a “free ride” on significant investments undertaken by Booking.com.