Resort Fees
The hotel industry prides itself on offering an array of amenities and services to ensure guests have what they want and need from their travel experience. Transparency and guest satisfaction are at the core of the industry’s business model. Making sure guests have all the necessary information prior to booking their reservations is paramount.
The hotel industry provides guests full disclosure for resort and amenities fees charged up front. In fact, they were created in an effort to provide consumers with the best value by grouping amenity fees into one cost. If consumers were charged individual fees for all amenities, the cost would likely be prohibitive. This practice aligns with guidance introduced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2012.
Indeed, these fees are not common practice in the hotel industry. Declining over the past decade, approximately only 6% of hotels currently charge resort fees. These are the properties that have far more available amenities than other lodging facilities.
Our Position
Consumers should be aware of the exact amount they are paying for each item of the bill – cost of the room, fees, and taxes. Each should be broken out separately. Our industry is transparent about fees and discloses them prior to a guest booking online.
It is critical that guests have the same expectation of fee transparency and disclosure wherever they shop for and book hotel rooms. An even playing field across the lodging ecosystem (including hotels, online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and short-term rental platforms) is necessary for guests to be able to compare options with confidence.
The bottom line is that the hotel industry embraces a competitive business model that is driven by transparency. AHLA supports updates to disclosure requirements that apply everywhere guests are shopping for and booking lodging. Ensuring guests have all the necessary information prior to booking their rooms is central to the hotel industry’s model and to consumer satisfaction.
AHLA supports the Hotel Fees Transparency Act introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in July 2023. Read more here.
“The Hotel Fees Transparency Act is an important bill that will create a single standard for mandatory fee display across the entire lodging ecosystem – from hotels to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and short-term rental platforms,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “We know consumers shop for travel across multiple sites, and this bill is a pivotal step toward creating a more transparent booking process for guests. We commend Senator Klobuchar and Senator Moran for their work on this issue and for recognizing the need to create a level playing field for all types of lodging providers and distributors. We look forward to working with the senators and their colleagues on Capitol Hill on this crucial topic."
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Key Issues
AHLA is the singular voice representing every segment of the hotel industry including major chains, independent hotels, management companies, REIT’s, bed and breakfasts, industry partners and more.