The largest hotel association in the U.S., American
Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has asked congressional leaders to
take up important legislation that would protect consumers from hidden fees in
their hotel bookings before the 118th Congress ends January 3, 2025.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, AHLA President
& CEO Rosanna Maietta called on lawmakers to move lodging fee transparency
legislation – the House-passed No Hidden FEES Act or the Senate’s Hotel Fees
Transparency Act – to President Biden’s desk. These bills would protect
consumers by establishing a single and transparent nationwide standard for
mandatory lodging fee displays.
The AHLA Foundation’s No Room for Trafficking initiative has
been helping hoteliers identify and stop instances of human trafficking since
2019. Maietta also called on lawmakers to take up the HOTEL Act that encourages
federal workers traveling for business to stay in hotels with anti-human
trafficking programs.
In her letter, Maietta also urged Congress to pass two other
key pieces of legislation: the Closing the Workforce Gap Act, to help hoteliers
cope with the nationwide labor shortage, and the Red Tape Reduction Act, which
would help account for substantial sums of unreported income within the
short-term rental industry.
“From growing the workforce, to protecting consumers,
preventing human trafficking, and cutting red tape, these commonsense,
bipartisan policies are a win-win
for hoteliers, employees, and consumers. We encourage lawmakers to support
their swift passage,” said AHLA President & CEO Rosanna Maietta.
The hotel industry supports nearly 1 in 25 American jobs,
and this year hotels are projected to pay employees a record $123 billion in
wages, salaries and other compensation while generating nearly $83.4 billion in
tax revenue.
The House-passed No Hidden FEES Act (H.R. 6543) and the
Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2024 (S. 2498) would protect consumers by
establishing a single and transparent nationwide standard for mandatory lodging
fee displays. This would ensure prospective hotel guests have access to all-in,
up-front pricing information across the entire lodging industry, including
short-term rentals, online travel agencies, metasearch sites and hotels.
The HOTEL Act (H.R. 9681) would help prevent human
trafficking and protect the federal workforce by encouraging federal workers
traveling for business to stay at hotels with anti-human trafficking programs.
To qualify under the bill, hotel training must be developed in consultation
with either a state government, human trafficking survivors, survivor-led
anti-trafficking organizations or any organization that is nationally
recognized for its expertise in this area.
The Closing the Workforce Gap Act (H.R. 7574) would help
hoteliers deal with ongoing labor shortages by replacing the arbitrary annual
cap of 66,000 available H-2B temporary visas with a new, needs-based system.
The Red Tape Reduction Act (S. 1725) would take
an important step toward creating a more level playing field between the hotel
and lodging industry and alternative accommodations, such as short-term
rentals.
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