II 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 314 

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

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2025 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. MORAN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Mrs. 

CAPITO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

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 ‘‘Hotel Fees Trans5 parency Act of 2025’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ADVER7 TISING OF HOTEL ROOMS AND OTHER 

8 SHORT-TERM RENTAL PRICES. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for a 

2 covered entity to display, advertise, market, or offer 

3 in interstate commerce, including through direct of4 ferings, third-party distribution, or metasearch refer5 rals, a price for covered services that does not clear6 ly, conspicuously, and prominently— 

7 (A) display the total services price, if a 

8 price is displayed, in any advertisement, mar9 keting, or price list wherever the covered serv10 ices are displayed, advertised, marketed, or of11 fered for sale; 

12 (B) disclose to any individual who seeks to 

13 purchase covered services the total services 

14 price at the time the covered services are first 

15 displayed to the individual and anytime there16 after throughout the covered services pur17 chasing process; and 

18 (C) disclose, prior to the final purchase, 

19 any tax, fee, or assessment imposed by any gov20 ernment entity, quasi-government entity, or 

21 government-created special district or program 

22 on the sale of covered services. 

23 (2) INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS.—Provided that 

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1 ice price required in paragraph (1), nothing in this 

2 Act shall be construed to prohibit the display of— 

3 (A) individual components of the total 

4 price; or 

5 (B) details of other items not required by 

6 paragraph (1). 

7 (3) INDEMNIFICATION PROVISIONS.—Nothing 

8 in this section shall be construed to prohibit any cov9 ered entity from entering into a contract with any 

10 other covered entity that contains an indemnification 

11 provision with respect to price or fee information 

12 disclosed, exchanged, or shared between the covered 

13 entities that are parties to the contract. 

14 (b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

15 (1) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

16 (A) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC17 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) shall be 

18 treated as a violation of a rule defining an un19 fair or deceptive act or practice prescribed 

20 under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

21 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

22 (B) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

24 shall enforce this section in the same man25 ner, by the same means, and with the 


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1 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 

2 though all applicable terms and provisions 

3 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into 

5 and made a part of this Act. 

6 (ii) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.— 

7 Any person who violates this section shall 

8 be subject to the penalties and entitled to 

9 the privileges and immunities provided in 

10 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

12 (iii) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Noth13 ing in this section shall be construed to 

14 limit the authority of the Commission 

15 under any other provision of law. 

16 (2) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the attorney general 

18 of a State has reason to believe that an interest 

19 of the residents of the State has been or is 

20 being threatened or adversely affected by a 

21 practice that violates subsection (a), the attor22 ney general of the State may, as parens patriae, 

23 bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of 

24 the State in an appropriate district court of the 

25 United States to obtain appropriate relief. 


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1 (B) RIGHTS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

2 (i) NOTICE TO THE COMMISSION.— 

3 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro4 vided in subclause (III), the attorney 

5 general of a State, before initiating a 

6 civil action under subparagraph (A) 

7 shall notify the Commission in writing 

8 that the attorney general intends to 

9 bring such civil action. 

10 (II) CONTENTS.—The notifica11 tion required by subclause (I) shall in12 clude a copy of the complaint to be 

13 filed to initiate the civil action. 

14 (III) EXCEPTION.—If it is not 

15 feasible for the attorney general of a 

16 State to provide the notification re17 quired by subclause (I) before initi18 ating a civil action under subpara19 graph (A), the attorney general shall 

20 notify the Commission immediately 

21 upon instituting the civil action. 

22 (ii) INTERVENTION BY THE COMMIS23 SION.—The Commission may— 


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1 (I) intervene in any civil action 

2 brought by the attorney general of a 

3 State under subparagraph (A); and 

4 (II) upon intervening— 

5 (aa) be heard on all matters 

6 arising in the civil action; and 

7 (bb) file petitions for appeal. 

8 (C) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—Nothing in 

9 this paragraph may be construed to prevent the 

10 attorney general of a State from exercising the 

11 powers conferred on the attorney general by the 

12 laws of the State to conduct investigations, to 

13 administer oaths or affirmations, or to compel 

14 the attendance of witnesses or the production of 

15 documentary or other evidence. 

16 (D) ACTION BY THE COMMISSION.—When17 ever a civil action has been instituted by or on 

18 behalf of the Commission for violation of sub19 section (a), no attorney general of a State may, 

20 during the pendency of that action, institute an 

21 action under subparagraph (A) against any de22 fendant named in the complaint in that action 

23 for a violation of subsection (a) alleged in such 

24 complaint. 

25 (E) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 


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1 (i) VENUE.—Any action brought 

2 under subparagraph (A) may be brought 

3 in— 

4 (I) the district court of the 

5 United States that meets applicable 

6 requirements relating to venue under 

7 section 1391 of title 28, United States 

8 Code; or 

9 (II) another court of competent 

10 jurisdiction. 

11 (ii) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an ac12 tion brought under subparagraph (A), 

13 process may be served in any district in 

14 which— 

15 (I) the defendant is an inhab16 itant, may be found, or transacts 

17 business; or 

18 (II) venue is proper under section 

19 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

20 (F) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFI21 CIALS.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to civil 

23 actions brought by an attorney general 

24 under subparagraph (A), any other officer 

25 of a State who is authorized by the State 


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1 to do so may bring a civil action under 

2 subparagraph (A), subject to the same re3 quirements and limitations that apply 

4 under this paragraph to civil actions 

5 brought by attorneys general. 

6 (ii) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

7 this paragraph may be construed to pro8 hibit an authorized official of a State from 

9 initiating or continuing any proceeding in 

10 a court of the State for a violation of any 

11 civil or criminal law of the State. 

12 (3) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—In any action 

13 pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), an intermediary 

14 or third-party online seller may assert an affirmative 

15 defense if such intermediary or third-party online 

16 seller— 

17 (A) established procedures to receive up-to18 date price information from hotels or short19 term rentals, or agents acting on behalf of a 

20 hotel or short-term rental; 

21 (B) relied in good faith on information 

22 provided to the intermediary or third-party on23 line seller by a hotel or short-term rental, or 

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1 curate at the time it was provided to the inter2 mediary or third-party online seller; and 

3 (C) took prompt action to remove or cor4 rect any false or inaccurate information about 

5 the total services price after receiving notice 

6 that such information was false or inaccurate. 

7 (c) PREEMPTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State, or political subdivi9 sion of a State, may not maintain, enforce, pre10 scribe, or continue in effect any law, rule, regulation, 

11 requirement, standard, or other provision having the 

12 force and effect of law of the State, or political sub13 division of the State, that prohibits a covered entity 

14 from advertising, displaying, marketing, or otherwise 

15 offering, or otherwise affects the manner in which a 

16 covered entity may advertise, display, market, or 

17 otherwise offer, for sale in interstate commerce, in18 cluding through a direct offering, third-party dis19 tribution, or metasearch referral, a price of a res20 ervation for a covered service, and that requires fee 

21 disclosure, unless the law requires the total services 

22 price to include each service fee, as defined in sub23 section (d)(8), and in accordance with subsection 

24 (a)(1). 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section 

2 may not be construed to— 

3 (A) preempt any law of a State or political 

4 subdivision of a State relating to contracts or 

5 torts; or 

6 (B) preempt any law of a State or political 

7 subdivision of a State to the extent that such 

8 law relates to an act of fraud, unauthorized ac9 cess to personal information, or notification of 

10 unauthorized access to personal information. 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

12 (1) BASE SERVICES PRICE.—The term ‘‘base 

13 services price’’— 

14 (A) means, with respect to the covered 

15 services provided by a hotel or short-term rent16 al, the price in order to obtain the covered serv17 ices of the hotel or short-term rental; and 

18 (B) does not include— 

19 (i) any service fee; 

20 (ii) any taxes or fees imposed by a 

21 government or quasi-government entity; 

22 (iii) assessment fees of a government23 created special district or program; or 

24 (iv) any charges or fees for an op25 tional product or service associated with 


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1 the covered services that may be selected 

2 by a purchaser of covered services. 

3 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

4 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

5 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en6 tity’’ means a person, partnership, or corporation 

7 with respect to whom the Commission has jurisdic8 tion under section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade 

9 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)), including— 

10 (A) a hotel or short-term rental; 

11 (B) a third-party online seller; or 

12 (C) an intermediary. 

13 (4) COVERED SERVICES.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 services’’— 

15 (A) means the temporary provision of a 

16 room, building, or other lodging facility; and 

17 (B) does not include the provision of a 

18 meeting room, banquet services, or catering 

19 services. 

20 (5) HOTEL.—The term ‘‘hotel’’ means an es21 tablishment that is— 

22 (A) primarily engaged in providing a cov23 ered service to the general public; and 

24 (B) promoted, advertised, or marketed in 

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1 lishment’s services are sold in interstate com2 merce. 

3 (6) INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘‘intermediary’’ 

4 means an entity that operates either as a business5 to-business platform, consumer-facing platform, or 

6 both, that displays, including through direct offer7 ings, third-party distribution, or metasearch referral, 

8 a price for covered services or price comparison tools 

9 for consumers seeking covered services. 

10 (7) OPTIONAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE.—The 

11 term ‘‘optional product or service’’ means a product 

12 or service that an individual does not need to pur13 chase to use or obtain covered services 

14 (8) SERVICE FEE.—The term ‘‘service fee’’— 

15 (A) means a charge imposed by a covered 

16 entity that must be paid in order to obtain cov17 ered services; and 

18 (B) does not include— 

19 (i) any taxes or fees imposed by a 

20 government or quasi-government entity; 

21 (ii) any assessment fees of a govern22 ment-created special district or program; 

23 or 

24 (iii) any charges or fees for an op25 tional product or service associated with 


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1 the covered services that may be selected 

2 by a purchaser of covered services. 

3 (9) SHORT-TERM RENTAL.—The term ‘‘short4 term rental’’ means a property, including a single5 family dwelling or a unit in a condominium, coopera6 tive, or time-share, that provides covered services 

7 (either with respect to the entire property or a part 

8 of the property) to the general public— 

9 (A) in exchange for a fee; 

10 (B) for periods shorter than 30 consecutive 

11 days; and 

12 (C) is promoted, advertised, or marketed in 

13 interstate commerce or for which such prop14 erty’s services are sold in interstate commerce. 

15 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and any ter17 ritory or possession of the United States. 

18 (11) THIRD-PARTY ONLINE SELLER.—The term 

19 ‘‘third-party online seller’’ means any person other 

20 than a hotel or short-term rental that sells covered 

21 services or offers for sale covered services with re22 spect to a hotel or short-term rental in a transaction 

23 facilitated on the internet. 

24 (12) TOTAL SERVICES PRICE.—The term ‘‘total 

25 services’’— 


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1 (A) means, with respect to covered serv2 ices, the total cost of the covered services, in3 cluding the base services price and any service 

4 fees; and 

5 (B) does not include— 

6 (i) any taxes or fees imposed by a 

7 government or quasi-government entity; 

8 (ii) any assessment fees of a govern9 ment-created special district or program; 

10 or 

11 (iii) any charges or fees for an op12 tional product or service associated with 

13 the covered services that may be selected 

14 by a purchaser of covered services. 

15 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition under sub16 section (a) shall take effect 450 days after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act and shall apply to advertise18 ments, displays, marketing, and offers of covered services 

19 of a covered entity made on or after such date. 

Æ 


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