Resort Fee Lawsuits | Fighting Against Hidden Charges

Resort fees are an unlawful practice that strips consumers of their right to honest and transparent pricing. Hit by class actions, some hotels and booking companies are being forced to change their hidden fee tactics.

By seeking legal advice and standing up for your rights, you can help push the industry toward fairer practices while recovering compensation for your losses. Call now to learn more and to speak with our consumer fraud attorneys.

What is a Resort Fee?

Resort fees, also known as facility fees or service fees, are mandatory charges piled on top of a hotel’s room rate. If forced to explain, hotel management will likely say that these fees are charged for amenities such as pool access, gym use, Wi-Fi, or printing boarding passes. However, travelers often discover that they are required to pay these charges even if they never use the listed services.

Unlike optional upgrades, resort fees are non-negotiable. This means the advertised price is not the true price, which consumer advocates argue is inherently deceptive.

From the hotel’s perspective, bundling these charges as a separate “resort fee” helps keep the advertised base room rate competitive in search engines and booking sites. Essentially, the room looks cheaper up front, and the mandatory fee is added later.

Courts and attorneys general in several states have targeted this practice as deceptive advertising.

Why Resort Fees May Be Illegal

Consumer protection laws require businesses to present honest, transparent pricing. Hidden or mandatory charges that are excluded from the advertised rate can create legal exposure for hotels and booking platforms.

‍‍Advertising one price while intending to charge another may violate statutes that bar misrepresentations in the sale of goods or services. Guests may argue that they agreed to pay only the advertised nightly rate, and tacking on mandatory charges later constitutes a breach of the booking contract.

Resort Fee Lawsuits

One of the largest settlements to date involved Booking Holdings, a major online travel company that agreed to pay millions after state attorneys alleged the business promoted deceptively low room rates, only to reveal unavoidable “resort” or “amenity” charges at the final stage of booking.

Regulators emphasized that consumers deserve to see the full cost of their stay at the moment prices are first displayed, not after they’ve already invested time in the reservation process.

In California, a class-action was filed against the operator of the state’s official campsite reservation system. Plaintiffs claim that families booking campsites were misled when significant fees were tacked on at checkout, inflating the advertised price by nearly twenty percent.

Courts are increasingly signaling that drip pricing practices may amount to unlawful deception.

Why Hire The Lyon Firm

The Lyon Firm has experience representing consumers in complex lawsuits involving deceptive trade practices and hidden charges. Resort fee litigation requires a blend of knowledge in consumer protection statutes and regulatory enforcement trends. Our mission is to hold businesses accountable and to restore transparency in consumer transactions.

Resort Fee Lawsuits FAQs

1. Can I sue if a hotel added fees I didn’t agree to?
If the advertised price did not include mandatory resort fees, you may have a claim under state consumer protection laws for deceptive or unfair business practices.

2. Are resort fees legal if disclosed in fine print?
Courts may still find disclosures inadequate if the fees were not presented clearly and prominently before you committed to the booking.

3. Can I bring a lawsuit even if the resort fee was small?
Many individual claims are combined into class actions where consumers join together to recover damages, even when the fees alone are modest.

4. Do online travel sites share liability for hidden fees?
Booking platforms that advertise misleading rates may also face liability under false advertising and consumer fraud statutes.