Legislation includes key provision to protect intermediaries when hotels provide inaccurate resort fee information
Wednesday, July 30, 2024 – The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) issued a letter of endorsement for an amendment to S.2498, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2024, offered by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and supported by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS). The amended bill was reported favorably by U.S. Senate Commerce Committee today.
S.2498, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, as amended, will provide much-needed transparency about resort and other mandatory fees directly benefiting American consumers. It will require consumers to be shown the total price for hotel rooms and other places of short-term lodging, including the nightly rate and all mandatory fees, for the first time in federal law. This consistency is critical since consumers very often search for options across state lines.
“Travel Tech strongly supports the amended Hotel Fees Transparency Act. This legislation will provide consumers with complete and consistent pricing details—not only the room rate but also the mandatory fees set and assessed by the hotel—no matter where they live and how they shop for lodging,” stated Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of Travel Tech. “Promoting transparency is a top priority of Travel Tech and its members. S.2498 will enable travelers to plan more effectively while promoting fair marketplace competition.”
S.2498, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, as amended, includes an important provision sought by Travel Tech to protect the indirect distribution channel when hotels provide inaccurate resort fee information. The bill provides intermediaries with a “rebuttable presumption of compliance”
if they relied in good faith that the information provided to them was accurate. Travel Tech detailed this issue and its implications in its comments to the Federal Trade Commission in response to its Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Along with its comments, Travel Tech provided a diagram of the indirect distribution channel to illustrate the complex and multilayered indirect distribution channel.
“Travel Tech is grateful to have worked with Senators Klobuchar and Moran, Chairwoman Cantwell, and Ranking Member Cruz on this important, bipartisan common-sense provision,” said Chadwick. “Only hotels know if their resort fees are accurate. S.2498, as amended, rightly requires them to provide accurate resort fee information to consumers shopping for travel in the direct and indirect channels.”
The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents travel technology innovators ranging from dynamic startups, small, and midsize businesses to leading online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
