Litigation Practice Group Partner Tara L. Raghavan, whose practice focuses on hospitality, was quoted in Skift discussing the consumer protection and regulatory implications of New York City's newly created "Citywide Junk Fee Task Force" for the travel and hospitality industries.
The article, "Mamdani Takes on Junk Fees in NYC: Where it Stands and What it Could Mean for Travel," examines Mayor Zohran Mamdani's executive order establishing the task force, which will be overseen by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and is charged with developing new rules, investigating violations, and making recommendations for future legislation targeting hidden and deceptive fees in travel, hospitality, and event ticketing.
As quoted in the piece, Tara said the FTC's rules "set the national minimum standard for price transparency, so it is likely that states will implement stricter consumer-protection rules including those aimed at many more businesses." She also cautioned that states considering outright bans on certain charges must weigh the fact that fees such as resort fees generate significant tax revenue.