[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4489 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4489

 To prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of rates for hotel rooms 
                and other places of short-term lodging.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 25, 2019

   Ms. Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mr. Fortenberry, and Ms. Bass) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of rates for hotel rooms 
                and other places of short-term lodging.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hotel Advertising Transparency Act 
of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, hotel rooms and other places of lodging are often 
        advertised at a rate and later in the buying process mandatory 
        fees are disclosed that were not included in the advertised 
        room rate.
            (2) The mandatory fees described in paragraph (1) are 
        sometimes called by names such as ``resort fees'', ``cleaning 
        fees'', or ``facility fees'' and they are all mandatory and 
        charged by a place of short-term lodging in addition to 
        advertised room rates.
            (3) The number of short-term lodging facilities that 
        charged mandatory resort fees is growing.
            (4) Advertising that does not reflect the true mandatory 
        cost of a stay at a place of short-term lodging is deceptive.
            (5) The Federal Trade Commission has authority under 
        section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to 
        regulate and prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in 
        or affecting commerce.
            (6) In 2012 and 2013, the Federal Trade Commission 
        exercised its authority under that section 5 to issue warning 
        letters to 35 hotel operators and 11 online travel agents. In 
        those letters, the Commission cautioned hotel operators and 
        online travel agents that mandatory resort fees could confuse 
        consumers in violation of section 5(a)(2) of such Act (15 
        U.S.C. 45(a)(2)).
            (7) In 2017, an economist at the Federal Trade Commission 
        published an issue paper that found that forcing consumers to 
        click through additional webpages to see a hotel's resort fee 
        increases the time spent searching and learning the hotel's 
        price, and went on to state the following: ``Separating the 
        room rate from the resort fee increases the cognitive costs of 
        remembering the hotel's price. When it becomes more costly to 
        search and evaluate an additional hotel, a consumer's choice is 
        either to incur higher total search and cognitive costs or to 
        make an incomplete, less informed decision that may result in a 
        more costly room, or both.''

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING OF HOTEL ROOM 
              RATES.

    (a) Prohibition.--No person with respect to whom the Federal Trade 
Commission is empowered under section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)) may advertise in interstate 
commerce a rate for a place of short-term lodging that does not include 
all required fees, excluding taxes and fees imposed by a government.
    (b) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
        subsection (a) by a person subject to such subsection shall be 
        treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
        deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) 
        of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
            (2) Powers of commission.--
                    (A) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
                enforce this section in the same manner, by the same 
                means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and 
                duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of 
                the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) 
                were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. Any 
                person who violates this section shall be subject to 
                the penalties and entitled to the privileges and 
                immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act 
                (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
                    (B) Rulemaking.--
                            (i) In general.--The Commission may 
                        promulgate such rules as the Commission 
                        considers appropriate to enforce this section.
                            (ii) Procedures.--The Commission shall 
                        carry out any rulemaking under clause (i) in 
                        accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 
                        States Code.
    (c) Enforcement by States.--
            (1) In general.--In any case in which the attorney general 
        of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the 
        residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely 
        affected by the engagement of any person subject to subsection 
        (a) in a practice that violates such subsection, the attorney 
        general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil 
        action on behalf of the residents of the State in an 
        appropriate district court of the United States to obtain 
        appropriate relief.
            (2) Rights of federal trade commission.--
                    (A) Notice to federal trade commission.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (iii), the attorney general of a State 
                        shall notify the Commission in writing that the 
                        attorney general intends to bring a civil 
                        action under paragraph (1) before initiating 
                        the civil action against a person subject to 
                        subsection (a).
                            (ii) Contents.--The notification required 
                        by clause (i) with respect to a civil action 
                        shall include a copy of the complaint to be 
                        filed to initiate the civil action.
                            (iii) Exception.--If it is not feasible for 
                        the attorney general of a State to provide the 
                        notification required by clause (i) before 
                        initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), 
                        the attorney general shall notify the 
                        Commission immediately upon instituting the 
                        civil action.
                    (B) Intervention by federal trade commission.--The 
                Commission may--
                            (i) intervene in any civil action brought 
                        by the attorney general of a State under 
                        paragraph (1) against a person described in 
                        such paragraph; and
                            (ii) upon intervening--
                                    (I) be heard on all matters arising 
                                in the civil action; and
                                    (II) file petitions for appeal of a 
                                decision in the civil action.
            (3) Investigatory powers.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to prevent the attorney general of a State from 
        exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the 
        laws of the State to conduct investigations, to administer 
        oaths or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of witnesses 
        or the production of documentary or other evidence.
            (4) Effect on state court proceedings.--Nothing in this 
        subsection shall be construed to prohibit an authorized State 
        official from proceeding in State court on the basis of an 
        alleged violation of any general civil or criminal statute of 
        such State.
            (5) Coordination with federal trade commission.--If the 
        Federal Trade Commission institutes a civil action or an 
        administrative action with respect to a violation of subsection 
        (a), the attorney general of a State shall coordinate with the 
        Commission before bringing a civil action under paragraph (1) 
        against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission 
        for the violation with respect to which the Commission 
        instituted such action.
            (6) Venue; service of process.--
                    (A) Venue.--Any action brought under paragraph (1) 
                may be brought in--
                            (i) the district court of the United States 
                        that meets applicable requirements relating to 
                        venue under section 1391 of title 28, United 
                        States Code; or
                            (ii) another court of competent 
                        jurisdiction.
                    (B) Service of process.--In an action brought under 
                paragraph (1), process may be served in any district in 
                which the defendant--
                            (i) is an inhabitant; or
                            (ii) may be found.
            (7) Actions by other state officials.--
                    (A) In general.--In addition to civil actions 
                brought by attorneys general under paragraph (1), any 
                other officer of a State who is authorized by the State 
                to do so may bring a civil action under paragraph (1), 
                subject to the same requirements and limitations that 
                apply under this subsection to civil actions brought by 
                attorneys general.
                    (B) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection 
                may be construed to prohibit an authorized official of 
                a State from initiating or continuing any proceeding in 
                a court of the State for a violation of any civil or 
                criminal law of the State.
    (d) Definitions.--As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``place of short-term lodging'' means a hotel, 
        motel, inn, or other place of lodging that advertises at a rate 
        that is a nightly, hourly, or weekly rate; and
            (2) the term ``State'' includes any territory of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico.
    (e) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) shall take effect on the date 
that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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