This bill makes it illegal for covered entities to show or advertise a price for hotel rooms or short-term rentals without clearly and prominently showing the "total services price" when any price is shown. The total services price must be disclosed when the price is first shown to a buyer and at any later time during the purchase process. Covered entities must also disclose, before the final purchase, any tax, fee, or assessment charged by a government or similar entity. The bill allows showing price components (like a base price or separate fees) so long as those parts are less prominent than the total services price. It applies to hotels, short-term rentals (under 30 days), third-party online sellers, intermediaries, and metasearch referrals. Enforcement is by the Federal Trade Commission using its existing powers under the FTC Act; state attorneys general may sue on behalf of residents, with notice rules and limits on duplicative suits. Intermediaries and third-party sellers can use an affirmative defense if they had procedures to get up-to-date prices, relied in good faith on hotel-provided information, and quickly corrected errors after notice. The bill also preempts state rules that conflict with its price-disclosure requirements unless the state law requires the same total services price format. Definitions in the bill clarify terms like base services price, service fee, and total services price. The main rules take effect 450 days after the act is enacted.
No publicly available information on estimated costs to businesses or government is provided in the bill text. The bill makes violations subject to enforcement and penalties available under the Federal Trade Commission Act, but it does not list dollar amounts or specific cost estimates. The compliance date is 450 days after enactment.
The text of the bill states its purpose: to prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of prices for hotel rooms and short-term lodging. Supporters (the bill sponsors) put forward the measure to require clearer, more prominent disclosure of the total price that a purchaser must pay and to ensure buyers are told about government taxes and fees before final purchase.
No publicly available information on opponents' views is included in the bill text or provided metadata.