New Proposal Seeks to Eliminate Hotel Resort Fees

Resort fees are a form of additional payment that applies to visitors of resorts and hotels for different amenities. Usually, such fees are applicable for special amenities, but over the last decade, they have become infamous for increasing exponentially the bills for guests of hotels. While some hotels or resorts would indicate such fees may apply on top of the booking price, others would charge their customers, leaving them with no other choice but to pay extra for amenities that may not even be used by the visitors. While resort fees bring billions a year for hotels across the United States, a new bipartisan proposal in the Senate seeks to discontinue the practice of inflating prices for hotel stays.

As reported by NBC News, a bill called the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, seeks to crack down on the hidden resort fees that come on top of the price for hotel stays. Ultimately, the new proposal seeks to develop federal guidelines that require hotels and resorts to transparently present their prices. This would include clear information about additional fees for amenities such as beach chairs, gym or WiFi for example.

Additionally, to ensure that everyone is on the same page, the bill proposes advertisers of hotel rooms to display clearly the total upfront price a hotel guest would pay for their stay upon booking. The change seeks to ensure that guests of hotels, resorts or casino resorts wouldn’t be subject to additional fees they are not aware of.

To ensure the enforcement of control, the bill calls to grant the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to monitor and pursue breaches of the regulations. Per the new proposal, companies that violate the rules may be subject to lawsuits.

AGA Supports Resort Fees

While the proposed changes seek to protect the consumers, the US gambling industry association, the American Gaming Association (AGA), flagged that a blanket ban on resort fees may result in further confusion for the guests of hotels and casino resorts. “Changing to all-inclusive pricing would result in removal of existing amenity disclosures and could lead to consumers making assumptions about what services and amenities would be available,” wrote the Association to the FTC recently.

Additionally, AGA’s VP of government relations, Alex Costello, explained that resort fees bring value and explained that resorts try to present them as clearly as possible. At the same time, he pointed out that hotels and resorts comply with the guidance of the FTC when it comes to resort fees.

Currently, it is too early to determine whether or not the proposal that cracks down resort fees will gain further traction.