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Sen. Steve Stadelman
Filed: 4/28/2026
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2013
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| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2013 by replacing |
| 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Stop |
| 5 | | Online Booking Scams Act.
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| 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
| 7 | | "Affiliation contract" means a contract between an online |
| 8 | | platform and (i) the owner of the physical accommodation, (ii) |
| 9 | | the entity that operates the physical accommodation, (iii) the |
| 10 | | franchisor of the physical accommodation, or (iv) any entity |
| 11 | | authorized to enter into contracts for online booking services |
| 12 | | on behalf of the owner, operator, or franchisor. |
| 13 | | "Exhibition organizer or meeting planner" means the person |
| 14 | | responsible for all aspects of planning, promoting, and |
| 15 | | producing a meeting, conference, event, or exhibition, |
| 16 | | including overseeing and arranging all physical accommodation |
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| 1 | | reservation plans and contracts for the meeting, conference, |
| 2 | | event, or exhibition. |
| 3 | | "Online platform" means a website, mobile application, |
| 4 | | call center, service, artificial intelligence system, |
| 5 | | automated agent, or functionally similar technology that |
| 6 | | facilitates the reservation or booking of physical |
| 7 | | accommodations. |
| 8 | | "Physical accommodation" has the meaning given to the term |
| 9 | | "hotel" in the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act. |
| 10 | | "Shared hotel brand" means an identifying trademark that a |
| 11 | | hotel operator is expressly licensed to operate under in |
| 12 | | accordance with the terms of a hotel franchise or management |
| 13 | | agreement. |
| 14 | | "Third-party hotel booking website" means an online |
| 15 | | platform that facilitates the reservation or booking of |
| 16 | | physical accommodations in this State for consumers that is |
| 17 | | not directly affiliated with the physical accommodation being |
| 18 | | reserved or booked. "Third-party hotel booking website" does |
| 19 | | not include: |
| 20 | | (1) an online platform that is operated under a shared |
| 21 | | hotel brand; |
| 22 | | (2) an online platform that facilitates the |
| 23 | | reservation or booking of physical accommodations by |
| 24 | | connecting consumers to operators and owners of rental |
| 25 | | properties, hotels, motels, or other short-term |
| 26 | | accommodations, if the online platform has an affiliation |
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| 1 | | contract for the physical accommodation for which the |
| 2 | | online platform is facilitating bookings; or |
| 3 | | (3) an exhibition organizer or meeting planner or the |
| 4 | | official housing bureau for a meeting, conference, event, |
| 5 | | or exhibition held at the physical accommodation.
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| 6 | | Section 10. Requirements for third-party hotel booking |
| 7 | | websites. A third-party hotel booking website shall not |
| 8 | | facilitate the reservation or booking of physical |
| 9 | | accommodations in this State without clearly and conspicuously |
| 10 | | disclosing to the consumer that: |
| 11 | | (1) the third-party hotel booking website is a |
| 12 | | third-party booking service and is not directly affiliated |
| 13 | | with the physical accommodation; and |
| 14 | | (2) the consumer is not directly making a reservation |
| 15 | | or booking with the physical accommodation itself and the |
| 16 | | third-party hotel booking website functions as an |
| 17 | | unaffiliated intermediary for the transaction.
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| 18 | | Section 15. Placement of disclosure. |
| 19 | | (a) The disclosure required under Section 10 shall be |
| 20 | | displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the webpage or |
| 21 | | interface where the consumer selects physical accommodations |
| 22 | | for reservation or booking and shall appear first in any |
| 23 | | search results. A disclosure is not clear and conspicuous if a |
| 24 | | consumer must take any action to see it, such as clicking on a |
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| 1 | | hyperlink or hovering over an icon. |
| 2 | | (b) The disclosure shall appear prior to the entry of any |
| 3 | | personal data and shall be separate from any general terms and |
| 4 | | conditions or legal disclaimers. |
| 5 | | (c) In any oral communication with a consumer, the |
| 6 | | disclosure shall be communicated before any offer or |
| 7 | | information regarding the physical accommodation.
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| 8 | | Section 20. Prohibition on terms and conditions |
| 9 | | exclusivity. The disclosure required under Section 10 shall |
| 10 | | not be included solely in the third-party hotel booking |
| 11 | | website's general terms and conditions or in any other section |
| 12 | | of the website that requires the consumer to click through |
| 13 | | multiple links or read extensive legal text.
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| 14 | | Section 25. Enforcement under the Consumer Fraud and |
| 15 | | Deceptive Business Practices Act. The Attorney General may |
| 16 | | enforce violations of this Act as an unlawful practice under |
| 17 | | the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. All |
| 18 | | remedies, penalties, and authority granted to the Attorney |
| 19 | | General by that Act shall be available to the Attorney General |
| 20 | | for the enforcement of this Act.
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| 21 | | Section 30. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business |
| 22 | | Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2MMMM as follows:
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