{"id":166946,"date":"2021-03-11T10:24:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T18:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=166946"},"modified":"2021-03-11T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T22:49:24","slug":"mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"MGM Faces DC Lawsuit from Travelers’ Group Over Resort Fee Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

A nonprofit organization that represents travelers\u2019 interests has filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against MGM Resorts International. The suit claims the hospitality and gaming company deceives customers by hiding resort fees<\/p>\n

\"MGM
An aerial view of the MGM National Harbor Resort in Forest Heights, Md., located just outside Washington, DC. Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International faces a lawsuit in a local DC court over its practice of charging resort fees to customers. (Image: MGM Resorts International)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Travelers United said the Las Vegas-based company employs \u201cdrip pricing\u201d at its resorts. That means it does not reveal the true price for a room either on its site or third-party sites like Priceline or Expedia. That has led the company to reap \u201chundreds of millions of dollars\u201d over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

Further, it claims the amenities that the resort fee<\/a> purportedly covers are either \u201cobsolete or services provided as free\u201d to other guests. Those services include unlimited local and toll-free calls, which the group claims is obsolete since 96 percent of Americans have cell phones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If an MGM property closes its gym for whatever reason, MGM still charges a resort fee, it claims.<\/p>\n

There is no exchange of service with a resort fee,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cA customer of the defendant\u2019s is not allowed to refused the alleged services of the resort fee in an attempt to not pay the resort fee. Defendant forces a customer to pay the resort fee in order to receive the key to the customer\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The group actually filed the suit on Feb. 17 in DC\u2019s Superior Court. However, Travelers United did not publicize the suit until it sent a tweet on it Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Lauren Wolfe, a lawyer for Travelers United, told Casino.org<\/em> the organization wanted to confirm MGM received the suit before announcing it.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for MGM Resorts<\/a> told Casino.org<\/em> the company had no comment on the case.<\/p>\n

Suit Says DC Taxpayers Paid Fee for Councilman’s Stay<\/h2>\n

Travelers United filed the suit in a local DC court, meaning it only covers Washington, DC. It is not a federal lawsuit.<\/p>\n

It claims MGM forces DC residents to pay for resort fees even if they\u2019ve never been to an MGM establishment.<\/p>\n

\n

The complaint notes that in May 2019, DC\u2019s mayor and several members of the DC Council attended an International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas. Those members included Trayon White, Sr. He and his legislative director stayed at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on the Strip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

An unnamed travel company booked the reservations for them, with the rooms costing $2,476.46. However, the complaint states that when White and his aide got to the hotel, they received a separate bill for the resort fee, which amounted to $335.60.<\/p>\n

The group claims the resort fee violates DC\u2019s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The law prohibits companies from employing unlawful tactics regarding the sale of goods or services.<\/p>\n

The group claims MGM uses resort fees in at least 17 of its US resorts. Fees range from $15 to $45 per day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The company does not operate a property in DC. The closest is MGM National Harbor<\/a> in Forest Heights, Md., located just outside the District. However, the company markets its properties to DC residents using these practices, the suit claims.<\/p>\n

Seeks Ban on Resort Fee Practice<\/h2>\n

Travelers United seeks to permanently bar MGM Resorts from showing room rates that do not include resort fees in advertisements. It also wants the company to pay damages to the organization for each violation proven during the trial. In addition, it seeks punitive damages and the organization\u2019s legal fees.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also requesting a trial by jury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A nonprofit organization that represents travelers\u2019 interests has filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against MGM Resorts International. The suit claims the hospitality and gaming company deceives customers by hiding resort fees Travelers United said the Las Vegas-based company employs \u201cdrip pricing\u201d at its resorts. That means it does not reveal the true […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":166947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMGM Faces DC Lawsuit from Travelers' Group Over Resort Fee Practice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Travelers United said MGM Resorts uses \u201cdrip pricing,\u201d meaning it does not tell show the true price of rooms at the time of purchase.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MGM Faces DC Lawsuit from Travelers' Group Over Resort Fee Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Travelers United said MGM Resorts uses \u201cdrip pricing,\u201d meaning it does not tell show the true price of rooms at the time of purchase.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-11T18:24:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-11T22:49:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/mgm-national-harbor-architecture-aerial-two-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1422\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/\",\"name\":\"MGM Faces DC Lawsuit from Travelers' Group Over Resort Fee Practice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/mgm-national-harbor-architecture-aerial-two-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-11T18:24:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-11T22:49:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"Travelers United said MGM Resorts uses \u201cdrip pricing,\u201d meaning it does not tell show the true price of rooms at the time of purchase.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-faces-dc-lawsuit-from-travelers-group-over-resort-fee-practice\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/mgm-national-harbor-architecture-aerial-two-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/mgm-national-harbor-architecture-aerial-two-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1422,\"caption\":\"An aerial view of the MGM National Harbor Resort in Forest Heights, Md., located just outside Washington, DC. 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