Stop Online Booking Scams Act of 2016

To amend the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act to protect consumers from deceptive practices with respect to online booking of hotel reservations and to direct the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study with respect to online shopping for hotel reservations, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop Online Booking Scams Act of 2016 2. Protection from deceptive online booking practices The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act ( 15 U.S.C. 8401 et seq. (1) in section 2, by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (9) Hotel reservation transactions can be easily made online. Online commerce has created the opportunity for third party sellers to offer hotel reservations online while another company owns the hotel or provides the services purchased by the consumer. A consumer should have the utmost clarity as to which company such consumer is transacting with online. Actions by third party sellers that misappropriate brand identity, trademark, and other marketing content are harmful to consumers. ; (2) in section 3— (A) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection: (c) Requirements for third party online hotel reservation sellers (1) In general It shall be unlawful for a third party online hotel reservation seller to charge or attempt to charge any consumer’s credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account for any good or service sold in a transaction effected on the Internet, unless the third party online hotel reservation seller clearly and conspicuously discloses to the consumer all material terms of the transaction, including— (A) before the conclusion of the transaction— (i) a description of the good or service being offered; and (ii) the cost of such good or service; and (B) in a manner that is continuously visible to the consumer throughout the transaction process, the fact that the third party online hotel reservation seller is a third party seller and is not affiliated with the person who owns the hotel or provides the hotel services or accommodations. (2) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Commission The term Commission (B) Third party online hotel reservation seller The term third party online hotel reservation seller ; and (3) in section 6(a), by striking the period at the end and inserting , damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf of residents of the State, or such other relief that the court determines appropriate. 3. Study and report (a) Study The Federal Trade Commission shall conduct a study on online hotel reservation shopping. Such study shall include an assessment of— (1) the capacity of a consumer to understand which company such consumer is transacting with during online hotel reservation shopping; (2) the extent to which consumers are harmed by uncertainty as to which company such consumers are transacting with during online hotel reservation shopping; and (3) whether any practice by a third party online hotel reservation seller violates the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act ( 15 U.S.C. 8401 et seq. (b) Report Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall make publicly available on the website of the Commission a report that contains the results and conclusions of the study conducted under subsection (a). (c) Third party online hotel reservation seller defined In this section, the term third party online hotel reservation seller 15 U.S.C. 8402 4. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Trade Commission should revise its website to make it easier for consumers and businesses to report complaints of deceptive practices with respect to online booking of hotel reservations.

Summary: Stop Online Booking Scams Act of 2016 This bill amends the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) to prohibit a third party online hotel reservation seller (an online seller that is not affiliated with the person who owns the hotel or provides the hotel services or accommodations) from charging a consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account for any good or service sold in an Internet transaction, unless the seller discloses all material terms of the transaction. Before the conclusion of the transaction, the seller must describe, and disclose the cost of, the offered good or service. The seller must also disclose, in a manner that is continuously visible to the consumer throughout the transaction process, the fact that it is not affiliated with the person who: (1) owns the hotel, or (2) provides the hotel services or accommodations. States may bring actions in federal courts to obtain damages, restitution, compensation, or other relief for ROSCA violations. (Currently, states may bring such actions for only injunctive relief.) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must publish on its website an assessment of: (1) consumers' capacity to understand which company they are transacting with during online hotel reservation shopping, (2) consumer harm from such uncertainty, and (3) whether any practice by a third party online hotel reservation seller violates ROSCA. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the FTC should revise its website to make it easier for consumers and businesses to report complaints of deceptive practices with online booking of hotel reservations.