If you’re making travel plans for summer or fall, brace yourself for a jump in some advertised prices — which is, believe it or not, good news for consumers. It’s the result of a new California law aimed at bringing transparency to the resort fees, service fees, host fees and other “drip pricing” that often inflates consumer’s bills beyond the rates first advertised, especially at lodgings and restaurants. Under the California law known as SB 478 , which takes effect July 1, businesses selling their wares in California now must include mandatory fees in their initial advertised prices.
“The price you see is the price you pay,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said. The law has gotten a lot of attention for its potential effects on struggling restaurants, many of which have imposed service fees since the arrival of the pandemic. (In fact, one legislator has proposed an eleventh-hour exception to exclude restaurants.
) But the law also brings big changes for travelers and that industry — especially when it comes to the “resort fees” that many hotels automatically charge, saying they cover services and amenities such as pool and gym access. By putting a separate label on those fees, hotels have been able to advertise lower daily rates — an advantage when consumers are comparing prices. Now the hundreds of U.
S. hotels that have been tacking “resort fees” onto their daily rates will be required to include them in the advertised rates that Califo.
