I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6543 

To prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of prices for hotel rooms and 

other places of short-term lodging, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 1, 2023 

Mrs. KIM of California (for herself and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

A BILL 

To prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of prices for 

hotel rooms and other places of short-term lodging, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Hidden Fees on 

5 Extra Expenses for Stays Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘No Hid6 den FEES Act of 2023’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ADVER2 TISING OF HOTEL ROOM AND OTHER SHORT3 TERM LODGING PRICES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A covered provider may not ad5 vertise, display, market, or otherwise offer for sale in 

6 interstate commerce, including through a direct offering, 

7 third-party distribution, or metasearch referral, a price of 

8 a reservation for a place of short-term lodging that does 

9 not include each mandatory fee. 

10 (b) EXCLUSION.—Subsection (a) does not prohibit a 

11 covered provider from displaying any individual compo12 nent, including any fee or tax, that is part of the total 

13 price, if such total price is clearly and conspicuously dis14 closed to the consumer. 

15 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 

16 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS17 SION.— 

18 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC19 TICES.—A violation of section 2(a) shall be treated 

20 as a violation of a regulation under section 

21 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

22 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or decep23 tive acts or practices. 

24 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commis25 sion shall enforce section 2(a) in the same manner, 

26 by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

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1 powers, and duties as though all applicable terms 

2 and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

3 (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and 

4 made a part of this Act. Any covered provider who 

5 violates section 2(a) shall be subject to the penalties 

6 and entitled to the privileges and immunities pro7 vided in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

8 (3) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 

9 Act may be construed to limit the authority of the 

10 Commission under any other provision of law. 

11 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the attorney general of a 

13 State, or an official or agency of a State, has reason 

14 to believe that an interest of the residents of the 

15 State has been or is being threatened or adversely 

16 affected by a practice that violates section 2(a), the 

17 State may bring a civil action on behalf of the resi18 dents of the State in an appropriate district court of 

19 the United States to obtain appropriate relief. 

20 (2) RIGHTS OF COMMISSION.— 

21 (A) NOTICE TO COMMISSION.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

23 in clause (iii), an attorney general, official, 

24 or agency of a State, before initiating a 

25 civil action under paragraph (1), shall proVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:18 Dec 07, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6543.IH H6543
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1 vide written notification to the Commission 

2 that the attorney general, official, or agen3 cy intends to bring such civil action. 

4 (ii) CONTENTS.—The notification re5 quired under clause (i) shall include a copy 

6 of the complaint to be filed to initiate the 

7 civil action. 

8 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 

9 for an attorney general, official, or agency 

10 of a State to provide the notification re11 quired under clause (i) before initiating a 

12 civil action under paragraph (1), the attor13 ney general, official, or agency shall notify 

14 the Commission immediately upon insti15 tuting the civil action. 

16 (B) INTERVENTION BY COMMISSION.—The 

17 Commission may— 

18 (i) intervene in any civil action 

19 brought by an attorney general, official, or 

20 agency of a State under paragraph (1); 

21 and 

22 (ii) upon intervening— 

23 (I) be heard on all matters aris24 ing in the civil action; and 

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1 (II) appeal a decision in the civil 

2 action. 

3 (C) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE

4 FEDERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commis5 sion or the Attorney General of the United 

6 States has instituted a civil action for violation 

7 of section 2(a) (referred to in this subparagraph 

8 as the ‘‘Federal action’’), no State attorney 

9 general, official, or agency may bring an action 

10 under paragraph (1) during the pendency of the 

11 Federal action against any defendant named in 

12 the complaint in the Federal action for any vio13 lation of such section alleged in such complaint. 

14 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

15 subsection may be construed to prevent an attorney 

16 general, official, or agency of a State from exercising 

17 the powers conferred on the attorney general, offi18 cial, or agency by the laws of the State to conduct 

19 investigations, to administer oaths or affirmations, 

20 or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the pro21 duction of documentary or other evidence. 

22 SEC. 4. ONE NATIONAL STANDARD. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State, or political subdivision 

24 of a State, may not maintain, enforce, prescribe, or con25 tinue in effect any law, rule, regulation, requirement, 

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1 standard, or other provision having the force and effect 

2 of law of the State, or political subdivision of the State, 

3 that prohibits a covered provider from advertising, dis4 playing, marketing, or otherwise offering, or otherwise af5 fects the manner in which a covered provider may adver6 tise, display, market, or otherwise offer, for sale in inter7 state commerce, including through a direct offering, third8 party distribution, or metasearch referral, a price of a res9 ervation for a place of short-term lodging that does not 

10 include each mandatory fee. 

11 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not 

12 be construed to— 

13 (1) preempt any law of a State or political sub14 division of a State relating to contracts or torts; or 

15 (2) preempt any law of a State or political sub16 division of a State to the extent that such law re17 lates to an act of fraud, unauthorized access to per18 sonal information, or notification of unauthorized ac19 cess to personal information. 

20 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

24 (2) CORPORATE, GOVERNMENT, OR INSTITU25 TIONAL TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.—The 

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1 term ‘‘corporate, government, or institutional travel 

2 management program’’ means— 

3 (A) a program used by a company, govern4 ment entity, or not-for-profit institution for the 

5 travel of the officers, directors, or employees of 

6 such company, government entity, or not-for7 profit institution; or 

8 (B) a program purchased by a company, 

9 government entity, or not-for-profit institution 

10 and used for the travel of the officers, directors, 

11 or employees of such company, government en12 tity, or not-for-profit institution. 

13 (3) COVERED PROVIDER.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered pro15 vider’’ means a provider of a place of short16 term lodging, a provider of an internet website 

17 or other centralized platform, or any other enti18 ty who advertises, displays, markets, or other19 wise offers a price of a reservation for a place 

20 of short-term lodging. 

21 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered pro22 vider’’ does not include any entity who adver23 tises, displays, markets, or otherwise offers a 

24 price of a reservation for a place of short-term 

25 lodging for purchase pursuant to a corporate, 

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1 government, or institutional travel management 

2 program. 

3 (4) MANDATORY FEE.—The term ‘‘mandatory 

4 fee’’— 

5 (A) means each mandatory fee required to 

6 complete the booking or stay that is assessed by 

7 the covered provider and paid directly by the 

8 consumer; and 

9 (B) does not include any tax or fee im10 posed on the consumer by a governmental or 

11 quasi-governmental entity or assessment fees of 

12 a government-created special district or pro13 gram. 

14 (5) PLACE OF SHORT-TERM LODGING.—The 

15 term ‘‘place of short-term lodging’’ means a hotel, 

16 motel, inn, short-term rental, or other place of lodg17 ing that advertises at a price that is a nightly, hour18 ly, or weekly rate. 

19 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

20 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

21 each territory or possession of the United States. 

22 SEC. 6. APPLICATION TO PRIOR BOOKINGS. 

23 Section 2(a) shall apply only to a reservation for a 

24 place of short-term lodging made on or after the effective 

25 date of this Act. 

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1 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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