Booking Holdings Settles Texas “Junk Fee” Lawsuit for $9.5M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a historic $9.5 million settlement with Booking Holdings Inc., the parent company of Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com. The company was accused of deceptively marketing hotel room prices by omitting mandatory fees. The settlement, announced Tuesday, marks the largest amount recovered by a U.S. state related to “junk fee” practices against any hotel or online travel agency.
The lawsuit alleged that Booking Holdings enticed consumers with artificially low room rates that were not actually available. It also accused the company of obscuring mandatory fees by grouping them with government taxes at checkout. This practice gave the company an unfair advantage over competitors who displayed transparent pricing upfront.
Under the settlement terms, Booking Holdings must now disclose any fees added to hotel room prices upfront. This allows consumers to more efficiently compare prices. The company denied wrongdoing but stated it remains committed to pricing transparency.
Source: Texas Attorney General’s Office