[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8261 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8261

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 2022

   Ms. Johnson of Texas (for herself and Mrs. Trahan) 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 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, hotel rooms, short-term rentals, 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 charge 
        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 such 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) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
        45(a)).
            (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 
              AND OTHER SHORT-TERM LODGING RATES.

    (a) Prohibition.--No person with respect to whom the 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, including 
through direct offerings, third-party distribution, or metasearch 
referrals, 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 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 
        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 section--
            (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade 
        Commission;
             (2) the term ``place of short-term lodging'' means a 
        hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, or other place of lodging 
        that advertises at a rate that is a nightly, hourly, or weekly 
        rate; and
            (3) the term ``State'' means any of the several States, the 
        District of Columbia, and any territory of the United States.
    (e) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) shall take effect 270 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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