Atlantic City Hotels Accused of Improperly Boosting Rates

We all know that lodging rates have increased exponentially over the last several years.

But two New Jersey residents say there are several hotels in Atlantic City that have increased rates too much.

Several Atlantic City hotels, including those owned by Caesars Entertainment and MGM, have been named in a class-accent lawsuit for improperly boosting hotel rates. The suit alleges it was a wide-ranging scheme. It also includes the Hard Rock as a defendant.

The complaint, at least the second in the country this year, alleges that the hotels boosted rates higher than a shared platform from a Florida company and is in violation of antitrust law. Representatives on either side of the lawsuit, including plaintiffs and defendants, did not immediately respond for comments.

But it’s clear the plaintiffs are basing their lawsuit on existing data and information.

The plaintiffs allege that some hotel rates in Atlantic City were boosted by 25 percent when occupancy dropped five percent.

New Jersey gaming regulators called it a “substantial increase” during the time period back to 2018. According to the filing, the suit claims the respective hotels “misrepresented to guests, through omissions, half-truths, and misrepresentations, how they determined room rates.”