Central OC Times

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — On Friday, Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, and Robert Garcia (CA-42) penned a letter to Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), calling for an investigation into reports of Marriott International charging consumers unacceptable junk fees under the guise of complying with a hotel worker protection law in Los Angeles to ensure the practice doesn’t spread to other Marriott locations in Southern California. 

“We commend the Biden Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its efforts to improve transparency and minimize junk fees in the airline, event and hospitality industries,” the members wrote. “However, if allowed to persist, the so-called “Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance Costs Surcharge” would set a dangerous precedent, potentially permitting hospitality companies to overcharge guests for alleged compliance with laws that protect workers[.]” 

The fee ranges from $10-14 per night and would enable Marriott to collect an estimated $3.6 million per year at only one hotel, the 1,004-room Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Meanwhile, Marriott’s profits are soaring. 

“Marriott International has numerous properties in our districts, including the 1,030-room Marriott Anaheim, the 490-room Sheraton Hotel Park at the Anaheim Resort and the 309-room Marriott Long Beach,” they continued. “Long Beach has similar legislation to the City of Los Angeles…[and s]imilar legislation will also be on the ballot in Anaheim later this year. We want to make sure that the kind of "junk fee" that appeared in Los Angeles does not spread to our cities in response to efforts to protect hospitality workers.” 

“The FTC should investigate whether Marriott International has imposed a similar surcharge in other cities that have passed hotel worker protection laws,” they concluded. 

You can read the full letter HERE. 

“Don't use the word 'worker' to describe your fee unless the money is going directly to workers," said UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President Kurt Petersen. “Hotel companies are making record profits while housekeepers, cooks and dishwashers can't afford to live in the communities they work in. Marriott charging customers in the name of their workers is an example of why working people don't trust these wealthy corporations.”

Original source can be found here.