Skift Take
The U.S. Senate moved forward in an effort to force U.S.-based hotels and short-term rentals to adopt a new national standard for price comparison. It has adopted similar language to a comparable bill in the House, so it's possible the bill will become law before the November elections.
A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday that would create national standards for pricing for hotels, short-term rentals, and other lodging companies.
The bill, called The Hotel Fees Transparency Act, is designed to achieve pricing transparency. Hotels, short-term rentals, and online travel players would all have to display the total price, including all mandatory fees, upfront.
It now awaits a full Senate vote, which would bring it one step closer to becoming law.
"We are down to the final strokes of what could be significant federal legislation," said Jim Butler, chairman of the global hospitality group at the California law firm Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell (JMBM). "I'm not aware of any organized opposition to this legislation."
Next stepsThe bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation on Wednesday.
The committee adjusted the language to synch with a comparable bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed earlier this year,