Hyatt Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged ‘Junk Fee’ Practices

Traveler advocacy group Travelers United last week filed a class-action lawsuit against Hyatt Hotels Corp. over “junk fee practices,” according to the group’s attorneys.

The lawsuit, filed in the civil division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, accuses Hyatt of “false advertising” of room rates “for years” by adding “junk fees,” which are misrepresented by the hotel company as “destination” or “resort” fees at checkout. According to the complaint, “Hyatt’s practice was to initially advertise a room rate that excludes junk fees, but then to add junk fees into the final charges as a consumer was required to pay.”

Also known as drip pricing or partitioned pricing, junk fees are defined by the Federal Trade Commission as “hidden” and “unfair or deceptive fees that are charged for goods or services that have little or no added value to the consumer.”

In the court filing, Travelers United alleges Hyatt, in one example, advertised a rate for the Grand Hyatt Washington at $248 per night, but upon booking, the “actual per night cost of the room” was $270.49, prior to additional “occupancy taxes.” Hyatt then charged a “destination fee” of $45.98 for two nights filed under “taxes & fees,” according to the complaint. These fees, the plaintiffs allege, violate the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act.

“This lawsuit will show that hotels violate the law when they charge resort fees without including them in the advertised price,” Travelers United chief legal officer Lauren Wolfe said in a statement.

The class action complaint follows Texas attorney general Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Hyatt for “deceptive” practices in May.

Hyatt did not immediately return a request for comment.

The news follows Marriott International’s recent $225,000 fine by Pennsylvania’s attorney general for resort fee noncompliance, which was the result of a previous lawsuit from the state.

Angelique Platas www.businesstravelnews.com