Wyndham Seeks to Toss Hidden Resort Fees Class Action Lawsuit

Wyndham has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging the hotel giant fails to adequately disclose its resort fee and advertises nightly room rates that do not include the per night resort fee charge.

In its dismissal brief, Wyndham told the court that the case names the incorrect Wyndham corporate affiliates and fails to state a claim for violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) and the New Jersey Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty, and Notice Act (TCCWNA), arguing the plaintiff suffered no harm and the TCCWNA does not apply to website terms of use.

“Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for a violation of the New Jersey CFA because (among other reasons) the very information he alleges is ‘inadequately disclosed’ is explicitly and repeatedly disclosed throughout the booking process on www.wyndham.com and www.wyndhamhotelgroup.com,” Wyndham argued in its motion to dismiss.

Plaintiff Thomas Luca Jr. brought forth the proposed class action lawsuit on June 7, accusing Wyndham of consumer fraud by excluding the resort fee from the bolded displayed room cost consumers refer to when comparing hotel prices online.

Additionally, Luca states that Wyndham and its subsidiaries’ force consumers to agree to its websites’ “Terms of Use,” essentially releasing the hotel giant from any liability associated with the reservation process, including asserting claims for misleading room rates.

However, Wyndham Hotel Group and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts filed their motion to toss the case on Monday asserting that Luca fails to establish specific jurisdiction over Wyndham’s corporate affiliates.

“Instead, plaintiff seeks to hold those entities liable for Hotel Group and WHR’s alleged conduct under a theory of ‘common enterprise’ liability,” the corporate affiliates stated. “But no such theory exists under New Jersey law. Plaintiff therefore has failed to state a claim against either Wyndham Worldwide or Hotel Management, and the complaint should be dismissed as against those entities.”

According to Luca’s complaint, Wyndham “routinely and uniformly” misrepresents the actual price of renting a room at Wyndham hotels by deceptively hiding the resort fee connected with the displayed room charge, leading consumers to believe that they are paying less than the what they are actually being charged for.

“Defendants’ failure to adequately disclose the resort fee charge as part of the true cost of renting a hotel room is deceptive and causes consumers, including plaintiff and the class, to believe that they are paying substantially less than they actually are being charged for a room at defendants’ hotels,” according to Luca’s complaint.

The Federal Trade Commission calls this practice drip pricing, broadly defining it as “a pricing technique in which firms advertise only part of a product’s price and reveal other charges later as the customer goes through the buying process.”

Luca is represented by Gary F. Lynch, R. Bruce Carlson, Jamisen A. Etzel and Kevin Abramowicz of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP, Joseph J. DePalma, Katrina Carroll and Kyle A. Shamberg of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC and Joseph P. Guglielmo and Erin Green Comite of Scott + Scott LLP.

The Wyndham Resort Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Luca v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-00746, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

UPDATE: On Sept. 14, 2016, the plaintiffs accusing Wyndham of failing to disclose hidden resort fees asked a federal court judge to deny the resort chain’s motion to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit.

UPDATE 2: On February 15, 2017, a federal judge dismissed two of the Wyndham entities from the class action lawsuit, but has determined the case will proceed against the remaining defendants.

UPDATE 3: On June 5, 2018, a customer turned plaintiff is defending his resort fees class action claims against two Wyndham hotel companies, arguing that a recent high court decision does not invalidate his allegations.

UPDATE 4: On Oct. 15, 2018, a Wyndham Hotel guest who claims the company tricks customers into purchasing hotel rooms by hiding resort fees has asked a Pennsylvania federal court to grant Class certification in the lawsuit.

UPDATE 5: On Jan. 16, 2019, a federal judge dropped one allegation in the Wyndham resort fees class action lawsuit.

UPDATE 6: On Oct. 15, 2019, Wyndham reached a proposed settlement deal with customers who claimed that the company used “drip pricing” to conceal the full price of room booking from guests.

UPDATE 7: December 2019, the Wyndham resort fee class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.