The "Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025" mandates clear and upfront disclosure of all mandatory fees in hotel and short-term rental pricing, ensuring consumers see the full price before booking.
Amy Klobuchar
Senator
MN
The Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025 prohibits unfair and deceptive advertising of hotel and short-term rental prices by requiring all covered entities to clearly display the total price, including all mandatory service fees, upfront. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will enforce the Act, and state attorneys general can bring civil actions for violations. Intermediaries and third-party sellers have an affirmative defense if they relied in good faith on inaccurate pricing information from the hotel or short-term rental. The Act preempts state laws that conflict with its provisions, but it does not preempt state laws relating to contracts, torts, or data breaches.
No More Surprise Fees? Hotel Transparency Act Mandates Upfront Total Pricing
This bill, the 'Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025', takes aim at those annoying hidden charges you often find when booking a hotel or short-term rental. Its main goal is to force hotels, rental owners, and online booking sites to show you the total price – base rate plus all mandatory 'service fees' – right from the start, on every ad and throughout the entire booking process. Think resort fees, cleaning fees, or other required charges rolled into one clear number. Government taxes and fees still get added separately, but they must be shown before you hit that final 'confirm purchase' button.
Decoding the Price Tag
So how does this actually work? The bill requires what it calls the 'Total Services Price' to be displayed clearly and prominently whenever a price is shown. This includes the basic room cost plus any fee required to actually get the room (the 'Service Fee'). Things like optional parking, late checkout, or pay-per-view movies don't count towards this mandatory total, as they are defined as 'Optional Products or Services'. The breakdown of individual costs can still be shown, but it can't be more prominent than the all-in price. This requirement kicks in 450 days after the bill becomes law, giving businesses time to adjust their systems.
Who's on the Hook? (And Who Gets a Pass)
The rules apply broadly – to hotels, short-term rentals (like Airbnb or VRBO listings), third-party booking websites (like Expedia or Booking.com), and other 'intermediaries' involved in selling these stays. However, there's a potential out for the booking sites and intermediaries. They can claim an 'affirmative defense' if they received bad pricing info from the hotel or rental owner, provided they had systems in place to get updates, relied on the bad info in 'good faith', and acted quickly to fix the error once they knew about it. This means the primary responsibility still seems to rest with the lodging provider to supply accurate total pricing.
The Fine Print: Enforcement and State Rules
If businesses don't comply, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can step in, treating violations like other unfair or deceptive practices under its existing authority (Section 5 of the FTC Act). State Attorneys General also get the power to sue on behalf of their residents if they believe consumers are being harmed. Interestingly, this federal bill generally overrides state laws about how lodging prices must be advertised in interstate commerce. The exception is if a state law also requires the total price to include all service fees in a way that aligns with this bill's requirements. This aims to create a more consistent standard across state lines, simplifying things for national chains and travelers alike.