'The most hated fee in travel' hits Congress House measure would regulate hotels’ advertising of room rates

At the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Resortfeechecker.com cites a resort fee of $29.06 a night. At the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Resortfeechecker.com cites a resort fee of $29.06 a night. Photo: Hyatt Photo: Hyatt Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close 'The most hated fee in travel' hits Congress 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

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Legal challenges to the hotel industry's widespread practice of charging so-called "resort fees" just keep mounting. In the latest development, a bill was introduced in Congress this week to stop the practice.

Titled the Hotel Advertising Transparency Act of 2019, the legislation would prohibit hotels and other lodging providers from advertising room rates that do not include all mandatory charges other than government taxes and fees. It was introduced in the House by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.

The proposed federal legislation comes on the heels of two lawsuits on the issue that were filed in July – one by the attorney general of the District of Columbia against Marriott, and another by the attorney general of Nebraska against Hilton. Both of those suits allege that the hotel giants are violating local consumer protection statutes by imposing the extra fees and often hiding them from the immediate view of travelers who are searching online for accommodations.

"It is projected that in 2019, over three billion dollars in revenue alone will be collected from consumers due to these hidden fees. Consumers should be able to enjoy their vacation without being ripped off and financially burdened," Rep. Johnson said. The bill has the support of Consumer Reports and Travelers United, a consumer advocacy group.

If the bill becomes law, it would give enforcement authority over hotel price advertising to the Federal Trade Commission and to state attorneys general under provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Related: No resort fees at the showy new Grand Hyatt at SFO

Lauren Wolfe, counsel for Travelers United, called resort fees "the most hated fee in travel," and urged Congress to act on what she called a "bipartisan common-sense bill." Wolfe added: "It is important to note that this bill does not just cover mandatory fees for hotels, but it also will require that all fees are disclosed in the advertised rate for short term rentals," such as cleaning or booking fees at Airbnb or Homeaway properties, which can be stultifying.

Photo: Marriott Some hotels, like the Waikiki Beach Marriott, have already moved up...

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Hotels argue that resort fees are charged to cover their cost in providing various guest amenities and services like Wi-Fi, use of the pool and fitness room, daily newspaper, bottled water, maybe breakfast and/or use of the business center and so on. But the fees – which typically range from $20 to $40 a night – are mandatory for all guests whether they use any of those services or not.

Although the practice of charging resort fees started in resort destinations like Las Vegas, Hawaii and Orlando, it has since spread to many downtown hotels in large cities as well, disguised as "amenities" or "urban resort" fees.

Consumers who conduct hotel rate searches on the Internet will generally see results showing the base nightly room rates. To find out if there's a resort fee, and how much it is, usually requires the consumer to select a specific hotel, dates, and rate, then examine the pricing details.

The websites resortfeechecker.com and killresortfees.com track the special fees at hundreds of U.S. hotels and let consumers find them more easily than poring through specific dates and rates on hotel booking websites.

The bill put before Congress states that no one "may advertise in interstate commerce a rate for a short-term place of lodging that does not include all required fees, excluding taxes and fees imposed by a government." The bill defines a short-term place of lodging as "a hotel, motel, inn, or other place of lodging that advertises at a rate that is a nightly, hourly or weekly rate."

You can see the full text of the bill here.

The two representatives noted that the FTC has been warning hotels about the deceptive nature of the fees for several years, but they said the imposition of resort fees -- also known variously as amenity fees, urban destination fees and other names – has continued to expand in spite of the FTC's cautions.

Have you been frustrated by a resort fee lately? How did you handle it? Tell us in THE COMMENTS!

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.