Booking sued by Texas over hidden hotel fees
Texas has sued Booking Holdings for what it says is deceptive hotel rate display practices.
It misleads customers by ‘omitting mandatory fees from the advertised room rate’ the Office of the Attorney General of Texas says.
“For years, Booking has duped unsuspecting Texans by omitting mandatory fees from the advertised room rate,” the lawsuit states.
This ‘thwarts comparison shopping and allows Booking to lure unwitting consumers with artificially low room prices.’
It posted an example in the suit.
The JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa was advertised for $409 a night on Booking.com.
However, when clicking to finalize the booking, it costs at total of $546 with $56 hotel fee and $81 in taxes.
Various hotel chains have faced similar ‘misleading pricing’ legal action in several states, especially over resort fees.
Texas has sued Hilton and Hyatt, while Marriott recently reached a settlement.
Action has also been taken at the federal level by the Biden Administration.
Along with Booking.com, Booking Holdings owns Priceline, Kayak and Agoda.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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