Earlier this month, the District of Columbia filed suit against Marriott International to require full disclosure of additional fees upfront so that consumers can compare hotel prices accurately. The move followed an investigation by the attorneys general of all 50 states.
Yesterday, the attorney general of Nebraska, Doug Peterson, filed a similar lawsuit against Hilton Hotels accusing the chain of deceptive business practices.
In a tweet he urged transparency in pricing:
Peterson also released a statement saying, "For years, Hilton has misled consumers in Nebraska regarding the true cost of certain Hilton hotel rooms," adding that the chain had "failed to heed warnings from the Federal Trade Commission and the mounting complaints from their own customers." In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission sent letters to 22 hotel chains concerning disclosure of charging resort, destination, and amenity fees.
Nigel Glennie, Hilton's vice president for corporate communications, told MeetingsNet, “Resort fees are charged at less than two percent of our properties globally, enable additional value for our guests, and are always fully disclosed when booking through Hilton channels. We have not yet been served the related documents, so will take the opportunity to review these before providing additional comment.”
Hilton Hotels has more than 923,000 hotel rooms in more than a hundred countries, so changes to their fee disclosure policy could have a big impact on consumers in the lodging market.
For more information on resort fees, see this update from Travelers United.
