Senate Bill 416
By: Senators Halpern of the 39th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Echols of the 49th, Jones II of the
22nd, Sims of the 12th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," so as to prohibit third-party
hotel booking websites from misrepresenting their affiliations with hotels; to designate such
misrepresentation as an unlawful, unfair, and deceptive trade practice; to provide for
definitions; to provide for statutory construction; to provide for a short title; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Stop Online Booking Scams Act."
SECTION 2.
Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," is amended in subsection (b) of Code
Section 10-1-393, relating to unfair or deceptive practices in consumer transactions unlawful
and examples, by deleting "and" at the end of paragraph (36), by replacing the period with
"; and" at the end of paragraph (37), and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
<ins>"(38) Failure to comply with the provisions of Code Section 10-1-393.22."
</ins> SECTION 3.
Said part is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"10-1-393.22.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Affiliation contract' means a contract between an online platform and the owner of
the physical accommodation, the entity that operates the physical accommodation, or the
franchisor of the physical accommodation to provide online reservation services for the
physical accommodation.
(2) 'Exhibition organizer or meeting planner' means the person responsible for all aspects
of planning, promoting, and producing a meeting, conference, event, or exhibition,
including overseeing and arranging all physical accommodation reservation plans and
contracts for the meeting, conference, event, or exhibition.
(3) 'Physical accommodation' shall have the same meaning ascribed to the term 'hotel'
in Code Section 3-9-10.
(4) 'Shared hotel brand' means an identifying trademark under which a hotel operator is
expressly licensed to operate in accordance with the terms of a hotel franchise or
management agreement.
(5) 'Third-party hotel booking website' or 'website' means an online platform, website,
phone or mobile application, call center, or service that facilitates the reservation or
booking of accommodations in this state for consumers but is not directly affiliated with
the physical accommodation being booked. Such term shall not include:
(A) An online platform, website, phone or mobile application, call center, or service
that is operated under a shared hotel brand;
(B) An online platform that facilitates the reservation or booking of accommodations
by connecting consumers to operators and owners of rental properties, hotels, motels,
</ins>
<ins>or other short-term accommodations, provided that the online platform has an affiliation
contract with the owner, operator, or franchisor of the physical accommodation for
which they are facilitating bookings; or
(C) An exhibition organizer or meeting planner or the official housing bureau for a
meeting, conference, event, or exhibition held at the physical accommodation.
(b) Without otherwise limiting the definition of unfair or deceptive acts or practices under
this part, it shall be unlawful for a third-party hotel booking website to facilitate the
booking or reservation of accommodations in this state without clearly and conspicuously
disclosing to the consumer that:
(1) The website is a third-party booking service and not directly affiliated with the
physical accommodation; and
(2) The consumer is not directly booking with the accommodation itself, and the website
functions as an unaffiliated intermediary for the transaction.
(c) The disclosure required under subsection (b) of this Code section shall be displayed in
a clear and conspicuous manner on the webpage or interface where the consumer selects
accommodations for booking and shall appear first in any search results. A disclosure is
not clear and conspicuous if a consumer must take any action, such as clicking on a
hyperlink or hovering over an icon, to see it. The disclosure shall appear prior to the entry
of any personal data and shall be separate from any general terms and conditions or legal
disclaimers. In any oral communication with a consumer, the disclosure shall be
communicated before any offer or information regarding the accommodation. The
disclosure shall not be included solely in the third-party hotel booking website's general
terms and conditions or in any other section that requires the consumer to click through
multiple links or read extensive legal text."
</ins> SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.