We have been looking at the Resort Fee problem for numerous years. We have advised customers on litigation, compliance, and threat mitigation strategies. We have furnished recommendations on Attorney General investigations. We understand the quality defenses to patron and government corporation claims that Resort Fee practices represent violations of state purchaser safety movements, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and other causes of action based on misrepresentation, consumer fraud, and unfair business practices. We have advised that purchaser frustration over this issue could be excessive, and authorities agencies have periodically proven full-size hobby in leaping on a populist bandwagon. But nowadays, it seems like the state of affairs may have reached a turning point sooner or later.
Hotel Resort Fees litigation back in the news.
On July nine, 2019, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia sued Marriott International in Superior Court for the District of Columbia over its regulations and practices concerning “Resort Fees” and “drip pricing.” The lawsuit says that Marriott’s use of Resort Fee pricing misrepresents material information (and tends to lie to customers) and is an illegal trade exercise that violates the District’s Consumer Protection Act. Resort Fees are a shorthand expression for all mandatory charges and charges imposed by using a motel on its visitors, which are not blanketed in the quoted room price. They may have various names, including lodge fees, carrier expenses, amenity fees, vacation spot expenses, surcharges, or otherwise. But the common function is that they may be non-non-compulsory costs to the guest, which aren’t covered inside the initially quoted room charge.
Copy of the criticism in DC vs. Marriott
Click here to view a replica of the grievance—the potential significance of this Resort Fee case. Resort Fees have been around for at least 1997, but by 2017, they have been envisioned to have grown to greater than $2.7 billion. They appear to be gaining more recognition with hoteliers and annoying hotel guests. The practices the brand new lawsuit complains of are extensively used throughout the industry by many inn manufacturers and operators. While some hotel agencies may additionally be searching to differentiate their practices from the ones of Marriott in this case, we consider that most Resort Fee instances will present comparable liabilities, demanding situations, and compliance issues that Marriott will face.
Putting Resort Fee litigation in the context
Over the years, there have been periods of intense cognizance of diverse mandatory hotel expenses, which include some client class moves, an FTC press launch and letter to 22 resort companies in 2012, the formation of a venture pressure through forty-seven Attorneys General in 2016, and an FTC Report issued in January 2017.
However, the January 2017 FTC Report, regarded as a government motion on Resort Fees, calmed down. Some idea the regulator’s misplaced interest. Others think the Trump administration has introduced a new decrease-key approach to regulatory enforcement. On any occasion, there has been no high-profile enforcement movement or litigation till the July 9, 2019, lawsuit filed through the Washington DC Attorney General.
In the coming days, we can see if the FTC steps again into this difficulty and whether the alternative 46 Attorneys General provokes comparable litigation in opposition to Marriott or other proprietors and operators with Resort Fees. The Federal Trade Commission Act and maximum states purchaser protection laws have provisions similar to the District of Columbia’s. While some plaintiffs’ legal professionals might also favor journeying the coattails of the Federal or State government movement, others may seek to record elegant activities to stake out their claims early in the sport.
