U.S. Congress One Step Closer to Passing Junk Fee Law

31.07.2024 - 22:23 / skift.com / Sean Oneill / Amy Klobuchar / Jerry Moran / Kevin Carey

A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday that would create national standards for pricing for hotels, short-term rentals, and other lodging companies.

The bill, called The Hotel Fees Transparency Act, is designed to achieve pricing transparency. Hotels, short-term rentals, and online travel players would all have to display the total price, including all mandatory fees, upfront.

It now awaits a full Senate vote, which would bring it one step closer to becoming law.

“We are down to the final strokes of what could be significant federal legislation,” said Jim Butler, chairman of the global hospitality group at the California law firm Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell (JMBM). “I’m not aware of any organized opposition to this legislation.”

The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation on Wednesday.

The committee adjusted the language to synch with a comparable bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed earlier this year, the No Hidden FEES Act.

While the original Senate bill required online travel intermediaries to meet the standards for pricing transparency, it didn’t provide protections in case of disputes about accuracy. Now it does. The House bill still does not include the provision protecting intermediaries in the case of disputes.

The language between the Senate and House bills are now similar but not identical at this point, according to Matt Carrier, senior vice president, federal affairs, policy, and research for the American Hotels & Lodging Association (AHLA).

“I don’t think anything substantive from a policy perspective is different between the two bills,” Carrier said. “But procedurally they’re not exactly the same. We’re talking to leadership in both chambers about how to make real law out of this by reconciling the bills.”

The AHLA has thrown its support behind the bill. That was something of a turnabout. For about a dozen years, the hotel lobby had opposed legislation around so-called junk fees. More recently, however, the hotel lobby pivoted to becoming a major advocate of adopting a national standard.

“We urge the Senate to quickly bring this bill to the floor for a vote,” said AHLA interim president and CEO Kevin Carey. “It’s a step toward a more transparent booking process for guests and a level playing field across the lodging industry — including short-term rentals, online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels.”

The Travel Technology Association had advocated for revised language to the Senate bill to include a provision to protect online travel agencies and distributors when hotels provide inaccurate resort fee information. It got that