The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation passed a bill Wednesday that seeks to establish transparency in extra fees while booking hotel rooms in the U.S. The Hotel Fees Transparency Act is designed to achieve pricing transparency for hotels, short-term rentals and online travel players. They would all have to display the total price, including all mandatory fees, up front.
The bill now awaits a full Senate vote, which would bring it one step closer to becoming law—potentially before the November elections.
The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Jerry Moran, passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation on Wednesday. The committee adjusted the language to synch with a comparable bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed earlier this year.
The vote in the Senate is a significant step towards a more transparent booking process and a level-playing field in the lodging industry, the American Hotel & Lodging Association interim president and CEO Kevin Carey said in a statement.
“[Wednesday's] committee vote in the Senate is an important step toward a more transparent booking process for guests and a level playing field across the lodging industry—including short-term rentals, online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels,” Carey said. “We thank Sens. Klobuchar and Moran for their leadership on this issue, and we urge the Senate to quickly bring this bill to the floor for a vote. The House has already passed similar commonsense legislation and we look forward to working with both chambers to advance this bill to the president’s desk.”
The U.S. House of Representatives on June 11 passed the No Hidden FEES Act (H.R. 6543), similar legislation from Reps. Young Kim and Kathy Castor, that is also strongly supported by AHLA.
AHLA has long supported the creation of a single standard for mandatory fee display across the lodging industry—from short-term rental platforms, to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels. AHLA’s most recent data shows only 6 percent of hotels nationwide charge a mandatory resort/destination/amenity fee, at an average of $26 per night.
A modified version of this story originally appeared on www.hotelmanagement.net.
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