You go online and book a hotel room and get a great deal. You cannot believe you got a hotel in SOHO or Georgetown or Rittenhouse Square for so little money. But did you get a good deal? At checkout, you see “resort fee” or “destination fee” or “amenity fees”. Resort fee? There is no pool or sauna. Just a few elliptical machines next to the laundry room. You are pissed, but it is too late. You pay your bill.
To compete online, hotels must have competitive nightly rates. To make up for the rate cuts, they are slipping in fees. These fees are not advertised – they do not show up on any of the popular booking websites. And you do not know about them until it is too late. Tacking on hidden fees to hotel bills has become the norm. It is called “drip pricing.” Those drips can add up, sometimes to $95 per day.
This is also called fraud. It is happening all over the country and major hotels are all in on this new scam.
The Washington, D.C. Attorney General recently filed a lawsuit against Marriott International, Inc. for hiding the true cost of a hotel room and failing to disclose the true price to the consumer. The lawsuit alleges that Marriott’s practices violate the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA). Violations of the CPPA can be heavy. A court can award treble or triple the amount of damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief and/or attorney’s fees and costs.
These hotel hidden fees likely violate other states’ consumer protection acts, including Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL) and New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act.
Don’t count on the Attorney General’s office holding any corporation to account. Usually such lawsuits are media appearances and press conferences to be used for the AG’s next run for office. Consumers should fight back and we are the lawyers that will take on that fight.
While the fees charged to you may be small, consumer fraud violations are usually perfect cases for class actions. If you, or someone you know, has been charged a hidden hotel fee, contact Klaproth Law for a free, confidential consultation.
