Booking.com Pays $9.5 Million to Settle Texas Junk Fee Lawsuit

Booking Holdings Inc., which operates travel reservation sites Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com, will pay Texas $9.5 million to settle claims that it omitted mandatory fees from hotel room prices, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced Tuesday.

The settlement is the largest recovered by a state related to “junk fee” practices against a hotel or online travel agency, Paxton said in a statement.

“Deceiving Texans by hiding fees is both a deeply unethical business practice and a violation of the law,” Paxton said. “Yet, that’s exactly what Booking chose to do, and now it’s time for the company to pay ...