Mamdani bans charging hotel junk fees — no matter where the lodging is located, including LI — to NYC residents

Hotel resort fees, surprise deposit requirements and related "junk fees" are being banned in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday, a rule that can also be applicable anywhere beyond city borders, including on Long Island.

The scope of the rule, which takes effect Feb. 21, extends to a hotel, Airbnb rental or other temporary lodging advertised in New York City, regardless if the stay is in the city or booked by residents for lodging outside the five boroughs. The definition of advertising in the city is broad and covers booking online. 

"I speak of the hidden fees that plague New Yorkers’ lives anytime they have the audacity to book a hotel room, not only when they’re in our city, but when they’re booking that room from here for wherever they’re traveling around the country," Mamdani said at an event announcing the new rules.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Vijay Dandapani, head of the Hotel Association of New York, a lobbying group representing hundreds of the city's biggest hotels, said: "The hotel industry strongly supports rules to prevent hidden fees and to protect our customers."

Under the rule, the entire, nontax cost of a night's stay must be disclosed as the total advertised nightly fee, and a surcharge under names like resort fee or destination fee can't be added, a practice long a bugaboo of guests who are surprised by the true, unadvertised cost.

If, say, a person in Brooklyn books a hotel in Montauk via its website, and shows up and is charged a fee that wasn't disclosed in the total cost, the hotel can be fined under city law. 

A first violation carries a $525 fine, escalating to $3,500 for a third and subsequent violations. Violations are per day.

Room deposits and holds aren't prohibited but must be disclosed upfront, including the amount, duration and how long it will take to get the money back.

Taxes and other government fees are excluded from the disclosure rule.

Sam Levine, commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, told Newsday the agency would be monitoring ads, such as booking sites, for compliance, as well as taking complaints from the public.

"The whole point of resort fees is that hotels can conceal how much they're really charging and gain a competitive advantage over honest hotels," Levine said. "With this rule, hotels will not longer be able to do that. They'll actually have to compete on how much consumers pay per night, regardless of what they call it," he said. 

"They're going to have to bake it into the nightly room fee." Levine said.

The rule was first proposed — but not enacted — by then-Mayor Eric Adams last year. 

 The Federal Trade Commission put forth a similar rule in 2024 at the end of the Biden administration — which Levine worked on during his tenure at the agency — that also targets junk ticketing fees but the government hasn't brought any enforcement action, he said. 

Mamdani’s announcement was the latest targeting so-called junk fees and other hidden charges, the subject of an executive order he signed his first week in office.

Despite demand for rooms, New York City has an essentially de facto ban on building new hotels absent special permission from the city under rules enacted during the de Blasio administration with the backing of the hotel worker union. Airbnb also is banned except under limited circumstances.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.