I've lived in Los Angeles for five years, so I'm about 30 minutes inland from Santa Monica. It's a beautiful, classic Southern California destination with a beach, a pier, and an abundance of classy shopping and dining spots.
22.06.2024 - 13:05 / thepointsguy.com / Gavin Newsom
All California hotels must disclose surprise junk fees starting July 1 thanks to two new state laws, including one specifically targeting hotel resorts and cleaning fees.
The California State Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 478 to modify California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act. The bill requires issuers to disclose all additional fees beyond the service itself upfront. Also known as "surprise fees," hotel, cruise and airline junk fees are often not listed until checkout. These charges will usually only appear with a bill's final total, along with other taxes and fees.
Many major hotel chains, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Choice Hotels, already openly disclose resort destination fees when you book, largely in response to consumer state lawsuits and pressure from the White House. In 2021, for example, Marriott settled with the Pennsylvania attorney general and agreed to start showing resort fees in future bookings — the move encouraged major hotel chains in the U.S. to follow suit.
"[Senate Bill 478] would ... make unlawful advertising, displaying, or offering a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges other than taxes or fees imposed by a government on the transaction, as specified," per the bill.
The legislation would also prohibit hidden fees, including those tacked onto hotel stays, food delivery services and event tickets. Similarly, it would also force cruise lines to be more transparent about hidden costs right off the bat, rather than later in the booking process.
"Today, California is eliminating hidden fees. These deceptive fees prevent us from knowing how much we will be charged at the outset," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement on Oct. 7, 2023. "... because a growing list of websites, apps, and brick-and-mortar businesses are using them, they penalize companies that are upfront and transparent with their prices. The price Californians see will be the price they pay."
Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 537 into law. The bill specifically targets hidden resort cleaning and service fees — it will also go into effect July 1. That bill says that hotels must disclose resort fees (and any other kind of added costs) alongside room rates.
One of the bill's co-authors, Senator Steve Glazer, a Democrat from Contra Costa County, previously authored a similar bill (Senate Bill 683) that would have required all lodging services (including hotels, short-term rentals and third-party booking services) to display the total cost of the stay along with any extra fees. The bill did not advance.
This legislation also applies to Airbnb bookings, where users must toggle a switch to show nightly rates, including
I've lived in Los Angeles for five years, so I'm about 30 minutes inland from Santa Monica. It's a beautiful, classic Southern California destination with a beach, a pier, and an abundance of classy shopping and dining spots.
The best part of summer cruising is that there are more cruising options than in any other season. Cruises to destinations like Alaska and Scandinavia are highly seasonal; go in the summer, or you can't cruise there at all. Even the Mediterranean is somewhat seasonal, with most cruise lines leaning heavily into summer and moving ships to warmer destinations during the cooler months.
Ryan Scott, a chef based in Marin County, California, was heading to a Hawaii vacation with his family of four when he suddenly found himself in a scene out of a nightmare.
Americans are heading to New York City for the Fourth of July weekend, but they’re not booking short-term rentals as much as last year.
The Four Seasons Hotel New York, which has been closed since the start of the pandemic, will reopen this September.
Presented by Capital One
Start your engines—summer has arrived, and with it, all sorts of new hotel options to explore. There’s a major renovation of a Cape Cod classic with an unbeatable beachfront location. Near Yellowstone, design-forward cabins come with their own private wood-fired hot tub. And on the banks of the Kiawah River in South Carolina, a new Auberge Resort offers some serious Lowcountry R&R just minutes from downtown Charleston, yet worlds away from the hustle and bustle. This summer’s most exciting openings aren’t merely places to rest your head—they really help you disconnect from your home life in order to savor the great outdoors. And isn’t that what summer is all about?
There are classic river itineraries — the Danube, the Rhine, the Rhone and the Nile — that anyone who appreciates the ease and camaraderie of river cruising can book with most of the top cruise lines. But those aren't your only options.
Come July 1, U.S. hotels will need to comply with a California state law that requires upfront disclosure of the total cost — including all mandatory fees — of hotel rooms, among other travel services like short-term rentals and cruises.
National park vacations continue to be extremely popular, especially during the summer travel season.
Summer is officially here, and Australian airline Qantas is celebrating with a sale that has big savings on trips down under.
People who visit Airbnb’s website and app in the U.S. first view the nightly rate and they can toggle to view the total price with all fees before taxes.