Banning Hotel Resort Fees: How Pending Legislation Could Lower Your Vacation Bill
Planning a vacation is exciting until you reach the checkout page and see your hotel total skyrocket. Hidden resort fees have frustrated travelers for years. Now, new federal and state consumer protection bills are targeting these deceptive charges. Here is how pending legislation could finally force price transparency and lower your travel bills.
The Frustrating Reality of Resort Fees
If you have booked a hotel recently, you have likely encountered a resort fee. Hotels often label these charges as destination fees, facility fees, or amenity fees. They are mandatory daily charges added to your base room rate. These fees supposedly cover services like high-speed Wi-Fi, pool access, gym use, or even local phone calls.
In reality, these fees are a pricing strategy. A hotel might advertise a room rate of $150 per night on a travel search engine to look highly competitive. However, once you click through to book the room, a mandatory $40 daily resort fee is tacked onto the final bill. Add in taxes, and your $150 room suddenly costs over $200 per night.
According to consumer advocates, this practice is highly deceptive. It prevents travelers from accurately comparing prices across different hotel brands. Over the last decade, these fees have spread from luxury beach resorts in Hawaii and mega-casinos in Las Vegas to standard business hotels in major cities like New York and Chicago.
Federal Action: The Hotel Fees Transparency Act
Lawmakers in Washington are finally stepping in to address this issue. In July 2023, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Jerry Moran introduced the Hotel Fees Transparency Act. This bipartisan bill aims to establish a clear federal standard for how hotels and short-term rentals advertise their prices.
If passed, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act will require any entity advertising a hotel room to show the total price upfront. This includes the major hotel brands like Marriott and Hilton, as well as third-party online travel agencies like Expedia, Booking.com, and Priceline. The advertised price would have to include all mandatory fees, excluding government taxes.
The goal of this specific bill is not to make the fees illegal, but to make hiding them illegal. By forcing total price transparency from the very first search result, consumers can make informed decisions and accurately compare a $200 room with no fees against a $150 room with a $50 fee.
The Junk Fee Prevention Act and FTC Rules
The push to regulate hotel fees is part of a much larger government initiative to eliminate “junk fees” across the American economy. The Biden administration introduced the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which specifically targets hidden fees in the hospitality, entertainment, and airline industries.
At the same time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a sweeping rule in October 2023 to ban hidden fees nationwide. The FTC rule targets a practice known as “drip pricing.” Drip pricing happens when a company advertises a low initial price and then slowly drips additional mandatory fees into the total as the consumer moves through the purchasing process.
Under the proposed FTC rule, businesses that fail to show the total upfront price could face heavy financial penalties. The FTC rule requires that the total price be displayed clearly and conspicuously from the moment a consumer sees the advertisement.
State-Level Progress: California Leads the Way
While federal bills make their way through Congress, individual states are taking immediate action. California recently passed Senate Bill 478, which goes into effect on July 1, 2024. This law strictly prohibits businesses from advertising prices that do not include all mandatory fees.
Because California represents such a massive portion of the travel market, SB 478 is expected to have a ripple effect across the entire country. Many major hotel chains use centralized booking systems. Modifying their websites to show upfront pricing only for California residents is technologically difficult. As a result, many hotel brands are expected to roll out transparent pricing nationwide to comply with the new California law.
Other states have also taken a stand. In 2021, the Pennsylvania Attorney General reached a settlement with Marriott International regarding hidden resort fees. The settlement required Marriott to prominently display the total price of a hotel stay (including resort fees) on the first page of its booking website.
Will This Actually Lower Your Vacation Bill?
A common question is whether these laws will actually save travelers money. The short answer is yes, but perhaps indirectly.
Hotels will likely fold the cost of their resort fees into their base room rates. A hotel that currently charges $150 plus a $50 resort fee will simply advertise a base rate of $200. While the total price remains the same for that specific property, you will save money by gaining the ability to shop around effectively.
When hidden fees are eliminated, hotels are forced to compete on their actual total price. If an independent boutique hotel offers a room for $180 total, and a major chain offers one for $200 total, you can clearly see the $20 difference immediately. This increased market competition naturally drives prices down over time, as hotels can no longer rely on deception to secure bookings.
How to Avoid Hotel Resort Fees Right Now
While waiting for these transparency laws to take full effect, there are a few concrete ways you can avoid paying resort fees on your next trip.
- Book with hotel points: Certain loyalty programs wave all resort fees when you book a room using your reward points. Hilton Honors and the World of Hyatt program are excellent examples of this policy.
- Look for fee-free chains: Not all hotel brands charge these fees. Budget and mid-tier brands like Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, and Courtyard by Marriott rarely charge resort fees.
- Dispute the fee: If the amenities supposedly covered by the fee (like the pool or fitness center) are closed for renovations during your stay, you can ask the front desk manager to remove the fee from your bill.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is a hotel resort fee? A resort fee is a mandatory daily charge added to your hotel bill, separate from the base room rate and taxes. Hotels claim these fees cover amenities like internet access, bottled water, or fitness center use. They typically range from $20 to over $50 per night.
Does the Hotel Fees Transparency Act make resort fees illegal? No. The legislation does not ban hotels from charging for amenities. Instead, it makes it illegal to hide those fees. Hotels will be required to include the cost of the resort fee in the initial advertised room rate so you know the true cost upfront.
Do third-party booking sites charge resort fees? Yes. If you book through sites like Expedia or Priceline, you are still responsible for the hotel’s mandatory resort fee. Currently, these sites often bury the fee in the fine print, and you are usually required to pay it directly to the hotel at the front desk. New legislation will force these websites to include the fee in their primary search results.