UPDATE: May 3, 2023: By May 15, Marriott will update its room rate display to show the price inclusive of both room rate and resort or destination fee as the first and most prominent price, the company told Hotel Dive. This change will apply to U.S. channels, including Marriott.com, the mobile app and voice reservations, for Marriott hotels globally that charge a resort or destination fee.

Dive Brief:

• Marriott International has been fined $225,000 by Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry for failing to comply with a 2021 settlement that required the hotel brand to inform consumers of “hidden” resort fees. 
• Marriott has agreed to the terms of a court order requiring it to comply with the previous settlement and moving forward must now be fully transparent about mandatory fees, including resort fees, to consumers. 
• The new agreement comes roughly three months after President Joe Biden called for the elimination of “junk fees” — the ambiguous surcharges included with hotel bookings and other purchases — during a State of the Union address on Feb. 7.

Dive Insight:

Marriott is under fire for failing to comply with a 2021 settlement reached with the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, in which the hotel brand agreed to prominently disclose its mandatory fees as part of the total room rate on the first page of its U.S. booking websites. After it was granted multiple extensions, Marriott still did not comply with the earlier settlement, resulting in the new agreement and fine. 

At the time of the 2021 settlement, The Wall Street Journal reported that Marriott hotels had collected more than $220 million in resort fees dating back to 2012. 

“What we asked of Marriott, and what the settlement demands, is simple: be up front with consumers and do not hide fees for hotel stays,” said Henry in an April 12 announcement.

According to travel advocacy group Travelers United, failing to include mandatory fees in the nightly room rate — a practice Henry’s office calls “drip pricing” — deceives the consumer about the true cost of the room and undermines the power to comparison shop.

Biden echoed concerns over hidden “junk fees” from hospitality, travel, entertainment and utility companies that “add up to hundreds of dollars a month” and proposed the Junk Fee Prevention Act. Sens. Richard Bulmenthal (D-Conn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced the Senate version of the bill in March, and Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.) introduced the House bill earlier this month.

“We’re going to ban surprise resort fees that hotels charge on your bill,” Biden said of the act. “Those fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren’t even resorts.” 

“Marriott International is committed to providing customers with clear and transparent pricing. We have long been focused on ensuring that any resort/destination fees charged by hotels are separately and clearly stated,” a Marriott spokesperson said. “We have been working diligently over the last several months on the technology required to update our room rate display and further enhance the way these fees are disclosed, in accordance with our agreement with the State of Pennsylvania.