STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7941 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY August 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. NOVAKHOV -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law in relation to prohibiting hotels, motels and lodging establishments from selling prepaid rooms to another person in certain circumstances The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that many hotel 2 reservations are prepaid in advance. Failure to check in on the first 3 night of a prepaid reservation can result in lost revenue for the hotel 4 and inconvenience for other guests. Some hotels have been known to sell 5 a prepaid room to a second person if the original guest fails to check 6 in, causing confusion and potential legal issues. 7 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 210 8 to read as follows: 9 § 210. Prepaid hotel reservations. 1. (a) Any hotel, motel or lodging 10 establishment shall be prohibited from selling a prepaid room to a 11 second person if the original guest fails to check in on the first night 12 of the originally scheduled reservation. If a reservation is scheduled 13 for seven days or longer, any hotel, motel or lodging establishment 14 shall be prohibited from selling a prepaid room to a second person if 15 the original guest fails to check in on the first, second or third night 16 of the originally scheduled reservation. 17 (b) It shall be required that any guest with a prepaid reservation at 18 a hotel, motel or lodging establishment who will not be checking in on 19 the first night of such reservation shall provide notice, by telephone 20 or electronic mail, to such hotel, motel or lodging establishment of 21 such late check-in. If such notice is not provided by the guest pursuant 22 to this paragraph, the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision 23 shall not apply and such hotel, motel or lodging establishment where the 24 prepaid reservation was made shall have the right to cancel such reser- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11409-02-3A. 7941 2 1 vation after twenty-four hours, unless the guest contacts such hotel, 2 motel or lodging establishment and cancels such reservation. 3 2. It shall be prohibited for any hotel, motel or lodging establish- 4 ment in any booking contract or agreement between such hotel, motel or 5 lodging establishment and a guest to include any provision that allows 6 such hotel, motel or lodging establishment to cancel a reservation, 7 charge a cancellation fee and rent out the reserved room to another 8 person when such reservation has been fully prepaid. 9 3. Any hotel, motel or lodging establishment that violates the 10 requirements of this section shall be responsible for any actual 11 damages, or a fine of five hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater, 12 per violation. A hotel, motel or lodging establishment charged with a 13 violation pursuant to this section shall have the right to appeal such 14 violation in a court of competent jurisdiction. 15 § 3. The division of consumer protection shall establish regulations 16 and guidelines for the implementation of this act, including but not 17 limited to the definition of a hotel, motel or lodging establishment. 18 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all 19 hotels, motels and lodging establishments in the state of New York.