Congress Wants to Ban the Junk Fees That Are Hiking Up Your Hotel Bill

Tori Latham
·2 min read
1
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

It’s a common problem: You go to book a hotel room and the final price at checkout is more than had been advertised when you first started your search.

That’s largely thanks to so-called resort fees, which properties charge to cover amenities like gym access, internet, and other items you thought were freebies included with your stay. In recent years, travelers have become more and more fed up with these extra charges, and members of Congress are hoping to do away with them, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

More from Robb Report

This year, there are two separate proposals in Congress to ban resort fees. In the spring, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island introduced the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which applies to resort fees and other “junk fees” like service charges for concert tickets. Then this summer, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas brought forth the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, which would require hotels and short-term rentals to display the full price, including fees, up front.

Industry groups are on board with the proposed changes. Chip Rogers, the president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, said in a statement that the Hotel Fees Transparency Act is “the best congressional solution for creating a single standard for mandatory fee display across the entire lodging ecosystem—from hotels to online travel agencies, metasearch sites and short-term rental platforms.”

His group found that about 6 percent of hotels charge these junk fees, with an average cost of $26 a night. While that might not sound like much, research by the tourism analyst Bjorn Hanson showed in 2018 that hotels bring in almost $3 billion a year from resort fees alone. And in a Consumer Reports survey from this year, more than half of the respondents said that hidden fees had pushed their hotel stays over their budget.

“It’s annoying to the traveler because hotels are not being transparent and resort fees are unavoidable,” Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry analyst, told the Times.

This is true across the industry, from affordable hotels to ultra-luxe options. But perhaps sometime soon, properties will be legally required to disclose their now-hidden fees.

Best of Robb Report

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.