Dear Partner,
We are writing to inform you about a recently enacted law in the state of California, which takes effect on July 1, 2024.
Impact on California residents and accommodations
Pricing display for all accommodations in California and California residents:
Effective from July 1, 2024, SB 478 and AB 537 apply to both destination California and Source Market California, ie., California residents. Consumers must have access to the total price, including all taxes, government-imposed fees, and mandatory hotel charges, before reserving a stay. According to California’s FAQs for regulation SB 478: “Businesses are free to explain or to subsequently itemize the charges that make up the total price that they charge customers.” Consumer legal remedies act regulates mandatory fees and charges (including resort fees). All advertised, displayed, or offered prices for services must include all mandatory fees or charges.
*Note: Only mandatory fees need to be displayed. It is NOT mandatory to display optional fees.
Keep in mind that our API has the functionality to display all the rates as passed by our suppliers and complies with this law. Please use our API responses to calculate and provide the final price for customers based on the rates and tax information we have provided.
Сancellation rules for all accommodations in California:
In accordance with SB644, hosting platforms, hotels, third-party booking, and short-term rental service providers in California must allow cancellation without penalty for at least 24 hours after booking confirmation if the reservation is made 72 hours or more before check-in time.
If a customer makes a reservation more than 72 hours before the date on which the booking period begins, they must be able to cancel it within at least 24 hours from the moment of booking and receive a full refund without any penalties or deductions. The refund period should not exceed 30 days from the date of cancellation.
Scope of application: This bill applies to accommodation facilities (e.g., hotels and short-term rentals) in California made by any user/consumer.
We transmit the data provided by our suppliers. If any cancellation policy contradicts the law, we identify and resolve the issues on our end.
Exceptions:
These provisions do NOT apply to the following types of bookings:
The reservation was made for a negotiated rate that was not advertised, or otherwise made available, for booking by the general public.
The reservation is for a hotel accommodation or short-term rental confirmed before July 1, 2024.
The reservation is one where the specific hotel or short-term rental is not disclosed to the consumer until after booking confirmation.
To learn more about our API responses, please refer to the link.
If you have any concerns, please reach out to our technical team, and we will be more than happy to assist you in navigating these changes.
Contact information for support:
For questions about the search response API, please mail: [email protected]
For legal questions, please contact your Account Manager
Sources:
California Price Display Law Bills (Senate Bill 478, Assembly Bill 537.)
Hotel and private residence rental reservations: cancellation: refunds (SB 644)