Updated December 4, 2023
On October 11th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a new proposed rule to prohibit hotel junk fees. The announcement comes on the heels of several lawsuits filed by Travelers United against Hilton, Hyatt, and Sonesta that challenge hotel junk fee practices. Travelers is represented in the litigation by Tycko & Zavareei.
“These lawsuits stand for a simple idea,” said Wesley Griffith, one of Travelers’ attorneys. “When a hotel advertises a room for a certain price, common sense and the law require the hotel to actually provide the room for the advertised rate. We are glad to see that the FTC is taking additional steps to ensure that consumers are protected from these deceptive fees.”
Like the new proposed FTC regulation, the lawsuits detail how many major hotel brands have been falsely advertising prices by adding on hidden “destination,” “resort,” and other deceptive fees at the last minute that do not appear in their advertised. The FTC estimates that junk fees pricing tactics cost American consumers tens of billions of dollars each year.
The New York Times and The Washington Post mentioned TZ’s lawsuits in recent articles about junk fees and the FTC’s proposed rule, which you can read about here and here.
Tycko & Zavareei is a public interest law firm with broad experience representing everyday Americans against abusive corporate practices. The TZ team representing Travelers includes Hassan Zavareei, Peter Silva, Leora Friedman, Wes Griffith and paralegal Emma Bass.
Read more:
- The New York Times
- The Washington Post (10/12/2023, 12/01/2023)
- Hyatt
- Hilton
- Sonesta