Anti-consumer bill sounds pro-consumer — beware

Sometimes bills get introduced into Congress that have wonderful names, like the “Stop Online Book Scams Act of 2016 (SOBS).” The name seems like nirvana for consumer advocates and wannabe consumer-friendly legislators. But, after looking under the hood there isn’t anything good for consumers in the bill’s language. Worse, it acts against consumer interests. It’s an anti-consumer bill.

The only scamming going on with this bill is perpetuated by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) on Congress. The hotel association has created a consumer harm where there is none and has worked with unwitting legislators to write a bill that sounds like it helps consumers while it actually harms them. This SOBS Act helps the hotel industry at the consumer expense.

When consumer groups battle to get issues like the elimination of hidden, mandatory hotel resort fees introduced in Congress, our representatives have a problem seeing any consumer harm from clear and obvious false advertising. But, when the AH&LA (with its new lobbying budget doubled from last year) comes to Congress with a sham problem, our Representatives and Senators snap to attention. In the final days of this Congress, Travelers United and other consumer groups are fighting the introduction of an unnecessary and anti-consumer bill.

Basically, the hotel association is claiming that consumers are being scammed into booking imaginary rooms through online booking sites. When consumer groups have asked for some examples of these scams, the hotel lobbyists promise proof, but still have not produced any harmed consumers.

The draft bill starts with a “sense of Congress” statement. In that statement, the bill states:

Examination by consumer groups have found that the misleading and deceptive sales tactics companies use against customers booking hotel rooms online have resulted in the loss of sensitive financial and personal information, financial harm, and headache for consumers.

There is a small problem — no consumer groups have examined anything, nor have any consumer groups found any harms.

This is fantasy written into the bill, evidently at the behest of the AH&LA. Today, Travelers United checked with every other consumer organization that we have been told supported this bill and found that not one even knew the bill was being introduced or what was in the draft proposal.

This is not the first time the question of lack of consumer harm in this bill has been raised. Travelers United, in written testimony against House Bill HR-4526, stated:

Travelers United has neither seen nor heard any of the issues described in this legislation regarding online travel agencies. Plus, since this issue first was raised last year, together with other consumer advocates, we have monitored consumer travel bulletin boards in search for any such problems. There has not been even one case mentioned in almost a year.

Obviously, the harm to consumers is not driving this bill. The hotel lobby is in the drivers seat trying to get a bill through Congress that will cast aspersions on online booking sites. The AH&LA despises comparison shopping. The organization is doing all it can to stop consumers from having the ability to comparison shop. Anything that even “sounds like” it proves there are problems with online travel agent sites (OTAs) is in the interest of hotels who want everyone to abandon comparison shopping and book directly with hotels.

Again, I quote from Travelers United testimony before the House Commerce Committee:

Travel agencies of all kinds are the only forum available to consumers that allow comparison shopping across the travel spectrum. These agents, whether working on a downtown corner, inside of corporate headquarters, or online, are the only way consumers can easily compare prices across hotel chains and properties. It makes no sense, from a consumer’s perspective, to add legislation where none is necessary.

This anti-consumer agenda of AH&LA is played out on TV news stories where “spokespersons” speak about scam dangers while numbers from the AH&LA are scrolled across the top of the screen saying “Costs consumers $220 million,” or “Thousands of consumers are misled every year…” Of course, these claims are not verified by the TV stations. Consumer groups which have not heard about any of these so-called problems are ignored. Once again, the goal is to create doubt in the consumer mind about online travel agents and to stop comparison shopping.

Stopping scams sounds good. Representatives and senators like the simple consumer-friendly name of the bill, but they are failing to examine whether or not there really is a problem and what the true intention of the bill may be. In this case, the SOBS Act that seemed so good for consumers is actually anti-consumer, anti-comparison shopping, and anti-free market.

This bill that sounds consumer-friendly is really an anti-consumer wolf in pro-consumer clothing.