Hilton Class Action Alleges Deceptive Pricing Scheme

Hilton Worldwide Holdings has been hit with a class action lawsuit by customers who claim that they were duped into paying a higher price for hotel rooms than were advertised.

Plaintiff Sanna Jesse claims that Hilton is misrepresenting to customers the price that they can anticipate to pay for their hotel rooms.

The Hilton class action lawsuit states, “Hilton makes matters worse by never adequately informing consumers of the increased room rate until after they check out of the hotel.”

For example, the plaintiff claims that she booked a room at a Hampton Inn & Suites for $134 for one night and $129 for the second night. After she stayed at the hotel, she was charged $258 for both nights, which resulted in a loss of $253.

As another example, the plaintiff claims that she booked a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites and was quoted a rate of $134 for the first night and $129 for the second night. After she stayed at the hotel, she was charged a rate of $268 for the first night and $258 for the second night, which resulted in a loss of $263.

The plaintiff alleges that, as a result of Hilton’s misleading pricing, customers are paying more for a hotel room than they had anticipated.  

In addition, the class action lawsuit claims that Hilton hides that their prices are not going to be as advertised, which deceives customers into booking a room at one of their hotels.

Also, the Hilton class action lawsuit says that Hilton did not follow standard practice in showing a page view that clearly displays what the total price of the transaction is going to be.

“Additionally, Plaintiff and class members have purchased hotel rooms they would not otherwise have purchased, or would have paid less for, had they known the true pricing,” the Hilton class action complaint claims.

The Hilton class action lawsuit alleges that there was no reference to any upcharge in the materials the plaintiff received from Hilton.

“Hilton is misrepresenting the price that consumers can expect to pay for their hotel rooms…[H]ilton promises consumers a lower room rate during the booking process, but then increases the room rate at check out,” the Hilton class action lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff states that she was not offered a refund by Hilton, which resulted in an economic loss.

Putative Class Members include, “All natural persons or entities domiciled in the United States or its territories who booked hotel rooms at any United States hotel within the Hilton family of hotels (e.g., Hilton, Conrad, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Home2Suites, Waldorf Astoria, Hampton and Tru) and who were charged rates higher than those quoted at the time of booking for the type of room booked.”

The Hilton class action lawsuit claims that the hotel chain violates Section 2 of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act as well as claims of breach of contract, promissory estoppel, common law fraud, and unjust enrichment.

The plaintiff is represented by William M. Sweetnam of Sweetnam LLC.

The Hilton Pricing Class Action Lawsuit is Jesse v. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Case No. 1:19-cv-04713, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

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