I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2495 
To protect consumers from deceptive practices with respect to online booking 
of hotel reservations, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2017 
Ms. FRANKEL of Florida (for herself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. WELCH) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To protect consumers from deceptive practices with respect 
to online booking of hotel reservations, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Online Booking 
Scams Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Internet has become an important 
channel of commerce in the United States, account-
ing for billions of dollars in retail sales every year. 
(2) Hotel reservation transactions can be easily 
made online and online commerce has created a 
marketplace where consumers can shop for hotels, 
flights, car rentals, and other travel-related services 
and products across thousands of brands on a single 
platform. 
(3) Consumers should be able to clearly identify 
the company with which they are transacting busi-
ness online. 
(4) Actions by third-party sellers that mis-
appropriate brand identity, trademark, or other mar-
keting content are harmful to consumers. 
(5) Platforms offered by online travel agencies 
provide consumers with a valuable tool for compara-
tive shopping for hotels and should not be mistaken 
for the unlawful third-party actors that commit such 
misappropriation. 
(6) The misleading and deceptive sales tactics 
companies use against consumers booking hotel 
rooms online have resulted in the loss of sensitive fi-
nancial and personal information, financial harm, 
and other damages for consumers. 
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) consumers benefit from the ability to shop 
for travel-related services and products on the inno-
vative platforms offered by online travel agencies; 
(2) sellers on the Internet should— 
(A) provide consumers with clear, accurate 
information; and 
(B) have an opportunity to compete fairly 
with one another; and 
(3) the Federal Trade Commission should re-
vise the Commission’s Internet site to make it easier 
for consumers and businesses to report complaints 
of deceptive practices with respect to online booking 
of hotel reservations. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AFFILIATION CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘affili-
ation contract’’ means, with respect to a hotel, a 
contract with the owner of the hotel, the entity that 
manages the hotel, or the franchisor of the hotel to 
provide online hotel reservation services for the 
hotel. 
(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
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(3) EXHIBITION ORGANIZER OR MEETING PLAN-
NER.—The term ‘‘exhibition organizer or meeting 
planner’’ means the person responsible for all as-
pects of planning, promoting, and producing a meet-
ing, conference, event, or exhibition, including over-
seeing and arranging all hotel reservation plans and 
contracts for the meeting, conference, event, or exhi-
bition. 
(4) OFFICIAL
HOUSING
BUREAU.—The term 
‘‘official housing bureau’’ means the organization 
designated by an exhibition organizer or meeting 
planner to provide hotel reservation services for 
meetings, conferences, events, or exhibitions. 
(5) PARTY DIRECTLY AFFILIATED.—The term 
‘‘party directly affiliated’’ means, with respect to a 
hotel, a person who has entered into an affiliation 
contract with the hotel. 
(6) THIRD PARTY ONLINE HOTEL RESERVATION 
SELLER.—The term ‘‘third party online hotel res-
ervation seller’’ means any person that— 
(A) sells any good or service with respect 
to a hotel in a transaction effected on the Inter-
net; and 
(B) is not— 
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