Resort fees have been a point of contention for years, with many consumers and travel managers alike saying they have gotten out of hand. Also known as amenity fees and destination fees, these charges add up to significant dollars that do not get included in a travel buyer's leveraging power because they're not included in the room rate.
Karl Racine, the attorney general for the District of Columbia, decided to do something about it. After he and the attorneys general in all 50 states investigated the issue, he filed a lawsuit in early July against Marriott International, accusing the company of misleading guests by advertising room rates that do not disclose the mandatory fees. Two weeks later, Nebraska's attorney general filed a similar lawsuit against Hilton Hotels Corp.
The D.C. suit cites Marriott for being in violation of the District's Consumer Protection Procedures Act, and noted that "for at least the last decade, Marriott has used an unlawful trade practice called ‘drip pricing' in advertising its hotel rooms whereby Marriott initially hides a portion of a hotel room's daily rate from consumers." The suit notes that Marriott's fees range from $9 to as much as $95 per day. Racine's goal is to require Marriott to disclose the fees up front.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of these lawsuits will mean for hotel pricing, but at least one channel is addressing the issue. In May, Booking.com moved to charge commissions on the base rate plus the fees as opposed to the room rate alone, thereby removing one rationale for hotels to list the fees separately.