NY State Senate Bill 2025-S2394

Senate Bill S2394

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires third-party accommodation reservation services identify themselves as such to users and not charge certain fees

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 17, 2025	referred to consumer protection

2025-S2394 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §391-x, Gen Bus L

2025-S2394 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires third-party accommodation reservation services identify themselves as such to users and not levy certain cancellation fees.

2025-S2394 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2394

SPONSOR: PERSAUD
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
third-party accommodation reservation services identify themselves as
such to users and not levy certain cancellation fees

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill requires third-party accommodation reservation services to
identify themselves as such to users and not levy certain cancellation
fees.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the general business law by adding section 391-x
requiring third party accommodation reservation services inform the user
that the third-party accommodation reservation service is not the place
of public accommodation but instead a third-party reservation service;
including definitions for "place of public accommodation", "third-party

accommodation reservation service", and "user".

Section one also establishes how third-party accommodation services
should not levy certain cancellation fees and includes penalties for
violations of this act.

Section two sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Third-party accommodation reservation services can take advantage of
consumers by posing as a hotel or in affiliation with a hotel leading to
problems such as undisclosed additional fees, incorrect accommodations,
lost reservations, and increased chance of cancellations. According to
the American Hotel and Lodging Association, twenty-three percent of
consumers report being misled by third party travel booking sites and
$5.7 billion in fraudulent and misleading hotel booking transactions
took place in 2018, alone. It is estimated there are fifteen million
online hotel bookings affected by third party scams per year, creating
1.3 billion dollars lost in "bad" bookings per year. This legislation
would help protect consumers from third party hotel booking site scams
and ensure they have the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions
for their hotel booking purchases.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2025-S2394 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2394
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 17, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general  business  law,  in  relation  to  requiring
   third-party  accommodation reservation services identify themselves as
   such to users and not levy certain cancellation fees

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 391-x to read as follows:
   §  391-X.  THIRD-PARTY  ACCOMMODATION RESERVATION SERVICES. 1.   DEFI-
 NITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  THE  FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL
 HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION" SHALL MEAN ANY INN, HOTEL, MOTEL,
 MOTOR COURT OR OTHER ESTABLISHMENT THAT PROVIDES  LODGING  TO  TRANSIENT
 GUESTS.  SUCH  TERM  SHALL  NOT  INCLUDE  AN ESTABLISHMENT TREATED AS AN
 APARTMENT BUILDING FOR PURPOSES OF ANY STATE OR LOCAL LAW OR  REGULATION
 OR  AN  ESTABLISHMENT  LOCATED  WITHIN A BUILDING THAT CONTAINS NOT MORE
 THAN FIVE ROOMS FOR RENT OR HIRE AND THAT  IS  ACTUALLY  OCCUPIED  AS  A
 RESIDENCE BY THE PROPRIETOR OF SUCH ESTABLISHMENT.
   (B) "THIRD-PARTY ACCOMMODATION RESERVATION SERVICE" MEANS ANY WEBSITE,
 MOBILE  APPLICATION  OR  OTHER  INTERNET  SERVICE  THAT:  (I)  OFFERS OR
 ARRANGES FOR RESERVING ON-PREMISES SERVICE FOR A GUEST  AT  A  PLACE  OF
 PUBLIC  ACCOMMODATION;  AND  (II) THAT IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY A PERSON
 OTHER THAN THE PERSON WHO OWNS SUCH PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.
   (C) "USER" MEANS ANY  INDIVIDUAL  USING  A  THIRD-PARTY  ACCOMMODATION
 RESERVATION  SERVICE  TO  MAKE  RESERVATIONS  FOR THEMSELF AND OTHERS IN
 THEIR PARTY.
   2. A THIRD-PARTY ACCOMMODATION RESERVATION SERVICE SHALL, UPON A  USER
 ATTEMPTING  TO  COMPLETE  A TRANSACTION ON SUCH SERVICE, INFORM THE USER
 THAT THE THIRD-PARTY ACCOMMODATION RESERVATION SERVICE IS NOT THE  PLACE
 OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION BUT INSTEAD A THIRD-PARTY ACCOMMODATION RESERVA-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06103-02-5

 S. 2394                             2
 
 TION  SERVICE.  USERS  WILL  THEN HAVE THE OPTION TO CONTINUE TO USE THE
 THIRD-PARTY ACCOMMODATION RESERVATION SERVICE OR CANCEL THE TRANSACTION.
 AT NO POINT BEFORE A USER CHOOSES TO CONTINUE  TO  USE  THE  THIRD-PARTY
 ACCOMMODATION  RESERVATION  SERVICE  SHALL THE SERVICE CHARGE THE USERS'
 CREDIT CARD.
   3. NO THIRD-PARTY ACCOMMODATION RESERVATION SERVICE SHALL LEVY  A  FEE
 OF  MORE  THAN  TEN PERCENT OF THE COST OF THE FIRST NIGHT OF A RESERVED
 ACCOMMODATION UPON A USER FOR CANCELING SUCH RESERVATION  WITHIN  FORTY-
 EIGHT  HOURS  OF THE INTENDED STAY AND SHALL NOT LEVY ANY SUCH FEE WHERE
 THE RESERVATION IS CANCELED MORE  THAN  FORTY-EIGHT  HOURS  IN  ADVANCE,
 SHOULD  THE HOTEL WAIVE THE CANCELLATION FEE. SHOULD THE HOTEL NOT WAIVE
 THE CANCELLATION FEE, A THIRD-PARTY  ACCOMMODATION  RESERVATION  SERVICE
 SHALL COLLECT THE CANCELLATION FEE AND NO MORE THAN A TEN PERCENT PENAL-
 TY.
   4.  ANY  PERSON  WHO  VIOLATES, OR CAUSES ANOTHER PERSON TO VIOLATE, A
 PROVISION OF THIS SECTION OR  ANY  RULE  PROMULGATED  PURSUANT  THERETO,
 SHALL  BE  SUBJECT TO A CIVIL PENALTY THAT SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE THOUSAND
 DOLLARS FOR EACH  VIOLATION.  VIOLATIONS  BY  THIRD-PARTY  ACCOMMODATION
 RESERVATION  SERVICES  UNDER  THIS SECTION SHALL ACCRUE ON A DAILY BASIS
 FOR EACH DAY AND FOR EACH PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION WITH RESPECT  TO
 WHICH  A  VIOLATION  OF THIS SECTION OR ANY RULE PROMULGATED PURSUANT TO
 THIS SECTION WAS COMMITTED. A PROCEEDING TO RECOVER ANY CIVIL PENALTY OR
 RESTITUTION AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION MAY  BE  BROUGHT  WITHIN
 ANY AGENCY OF THE STATE DESIGNATED TO CONDUCT SUCH PROCEEDINGS.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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