Marriott International has become the first major hotel company to publicly commit to disclosing its resort fees upfront as part of the total nightly rate customers can expect to pay when searching for rooms.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel giant reached a settlement with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office on Wednesday. "Hotels shouldn't be able to slap hidden fees on top of your bill at the last minute, and thanks to this settlement we're putting the hotel industry on notice to put an end to this deceptive practice," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "Marriott has stepped up to commit itself to fix this practice and we expect more hotel chains to follow suit."
In a statement of its own, Marriott said it "will be working over the next several months to update the room rate display in accordance with that agreement."
"Marriott International has long been committed to making sure that any resort/destination fees charged by hotels in the U.S. are separately and clearly stated. For many years, consistent with guidance from the Federal Trade Commission, we have clearly disclosed such fees on our channels throughout the booking process, with disclosures on multiple pages before the customer elects to book a room. Further, we have controls in place to ensure that hotels in our system that include a resort/destination fee adhere to strict criteria, which includes a requirement to provide amenities that have a value exceeding the amount of the resort/destination fee. Our agreement with the State of Pennsylvania further enhances the way resort/destination fees are fully disclosed on our U.S. channels and we will be working over the next several months to update the room rate display in accordance with that agreement."
Resort fees, sometimes referred to as "destination" or "amenity" fees, are charges that often cover things like Wi-Fi, parking and access to amenities such as the fitness center or pool and they can add up quickly, especially for travelers spending several nights at a hotel or resort in a major market.
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, the most recent investigation focused on a practice commonly referred to as "drip pricing," where fees are gradually disclosed to customers as they navigate through the booking process. "Customers often don't learn the total price of their booking, room rate plus resort fee, until the last page in the online booking process, or something until they check in at the hotel," Shapiro's office stated in a press release. "AG Shapiro argues that such a pricing model is deceptive and a violation of Pennsylvania's Consumer Protection Law."
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