Hotel resort fees, surprise deposits and other so-called junk fees for lodgings are being banned in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Wednesday, a rule that applies everywhere, not just within city borders.
The scope of the rule, which takes effect in a month, extends to anywhere a city resident books an advertised-in-New-York-City hotel, Airbnb rental or other temporary lodging, as well as properties that target city residents.
“I speak of the hidden fees that plague New Yorkers’ lives anytime they have the audacity to book a hotel room, not only when they’re in our city, but when they’re booking that room from here for wherever they’re traveling around the country,” Mamdani said at an event announcing the new rules.
Starting when the rule takes effect, hotels and other lodgings must bake in the entire cost of a night’s stay into the advertised nightly fee, and cannot add a surcharge under names like resort fee or destination fee, long a bugaboo of guests who are surprised by the actual cost that wasn’t advertised.
Sam Levine, commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, told Newsday the agency would be monitoring ads, such as booking sites, for compliance, as well as taking complaints from the public.
Check back for more on this developing story.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.