WASHINGTON—The American Lodge & Lodging Affiliation (AHLA) urged congressional leaders to take up essential laws that might defend shoppers from hidden charges of their resort reserving journey earlier than the 118th Congress ends Jan. 3, 2025.
In a letter to Home and Senate leaders, AHLA President and CEO Rosanna Maietta known as on lawmakers to maneuver lodging payment transparency laws—the Home-passed No Hidden FEES Act or the Senate’s Lodge Charges Transparency Act—to President Biden’s desk. These payments would defend shoppers by establishing a single and clear nationwide normal for obligatory lodging payment shows.
Maietta additionally known as on lawmakers to take up the HOTEL Act, which might encourage federal employees touring for enterprise to remain in lodges with anti-human trafficking applications.
AHLA has rallied hoteliers round insurance policies to guard shoppers and visitors and has led current efforts to ascertain a federal normal for lodging payment transparency. Moreover, the AHLA Basis’s No Room for Trafficking initiative has been serving to hoteliers establish and cease situations of human trafficking since 2019.
In her letter, Maietta additionally urged Congress to move two different key items of laws: the Closing the Workforce Hole Act, which might assist hoteliers deal with the nationwide labor scarcity, and the Pink Tape Discount Act, which might assist account for substantial sums of unreported earnings inside the short-term rental trade.
“From rising the workforce, to defending shoppers, stopping human trafficking, and chopping pink tape, these commonsense, bipartisan insurance policies are a win-win for hoteliers, workers, and shoppers. We encourage lawmakers to help their swift passage,” mentioned Maietta.
The resort trade helps almost 1 in 25 U.S. jobs, and this 12 months lodges are projected to pay workers a document $123 billion in wages, salaries, and different compensation whereas producing almost $83.4 billion in tax income.
Background Information
- The Home-passed No Hidden FEES Act (H.R. 6543) and the Lodge Charges Transparency Act of 2024 (S. 2498) would defend shoppers by establishing a single and clear nationwide normal for obligatory lodging payment shows. That normal would guarantee potential resort visitors have entry to all-in, up-front pricing data throughout the whole lodging trade, together with short-term leases, on-line journey businesses, metasearch websites, and lodges.
- The HOTEL Act (H.R. 9681) would assist stop human trafficking and defend the federal workforce by encouraging federal employees touring for enterprise to remain at lodges with anti-human trafficking applications. To qualify underneath the invoice, resort coaching should be developed in session with both a state authorities, human trafficking survivors, survivor-led anti-trafficking organizations, or any group that’s nationally acknowledged for its experience on this space—for example, the AHLA Basis.
- The Closing the Workforce Hole Act (H.R. 7574) would assist hoteliers take care of ongoing labor shortages by changing the arbitrary annual cap of 66,000 accessible H-2B momentary visas with a brand new, needs-based system.
- The Pink Tape Discount Act (S. 1725) would take an essential step towards making a extra stage enjoying area between the resort and lodging trade and different lodging, corresponding to short-term leases.