Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a $9.5 million settlement with Booking Holdings Inc. for hiding mandatory fees from consumers.
The agreement marks the largest state recovery against any hotel or travel agency for “junk fee” practices. The settlement addresses deceptive pricing tactics that misled Texas consumers and gave Booking unfair advantages over transparent competitors, according to a press release from Paxton’s office.
Paxton’s lawsuit accused Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com of enticing customers with artificially low room rates. The company allegedly buried mandatory fees within “Taxes and Fees” line items at checkout.
“Deceiving Texans by hiding fees is both a deeply unethical business practice and a violation of the law,” said Paxton. “Yet, that’s exactly what Booking chose to do, and now it’s time for the company to pay for their unlawful actions.”
The settlement requires Booking to disclose all fees upfront when displaying hotel room prices. This change allows consumers to compare actual costs across platforms efficiently.
“I will always stand up for Texas consumers and ensure that corporations are fully complying with state law,” Paxton continued. “Texans deserve transparency when looking at prices, and there will be accountability for any company that chooses to unlawfully mislead consumers.”
Paxton has previously reached similar agreements with Marriott, Omni, Choice Hotels, and Hilton. His efforts helped spur new federal regulations targeting hidden fees across industries.