Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025

Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025

This bill requires hotels and other short-term lodging providers to clearly display the total price of a room — including all fees and charges — whenever they advertise or list a price to potential customers. The goal is to put an end to the common practice known as "junk fees" or "resort fees," where hotels advertise an attractively low nightly rate but then add significant extra charges (like resort fees, amenity fees, or destination fees) only at the very end of the booking process.

Under this bill, any price shown to a customer — whether on a hotel's own website, a third-party booking platform like Expedia or Hotels.com, or in any other advertisement — must reflect the full amount the customer will actually pay, not a stripped-down base rate. Hidden fees could not be disclosed for the first time at checkout. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would be responsible for enforcing these new rules and could take action against businesses that violate them.

This bill affects essentially anyone who books a hotel room or similar lodging in the United States, which is a very large portion of the American public, particularly travelers, vacationers, and business travelers. It also directly affects hotels, motels, resorts, and online travel booking platforms, which would need to update how they display pricing. The bill passed the House by a voice vote and has been placed on the Senate calendar, meaning it awaits a Senate vote before it could become law.