In a move that could impact the luxury casino-hotels of Las Vegas, federal lawmakers are looking at tackling the resort fees that are often added to the price of hotel rooms.
US Senators Jerry Moran and Amy Klobuchar reportedly plan to introduce a new bill titled the ‘Hotel Fees Transparency Act.’ This legislation would create federal guidelines relating to pricing transparency, ordering hotels to show the total cost of a booking rather than just the base rate when advertising.
Hotels started adding resort fees in an attempt to have cheaper base room rates, with the resort fees added right before confirming a booking. This approach has led to legal action, including a lawsuit filed in 2019 against Marriott International that labeled the strategy a deceptive trade practice.
hidden fees that make it difficult to compare prices”
Commenting on the matter, Senator Klobuchar said: “Americans making reservations online are being met with hidden fees that make it difficult to compare prices and understand the true cost of an overnight stay.” She believes bipartisan legislation would lead to greater transparency when people are trying to make more informed decisions.
According to various surveys, the average Las Vegas resort fee is around the $32 mark. New York University has estimated that annual resort fee costs amount to as much as $3bn for the entire country.
