If Your Hotel Does This, They're Breaking The Law

When you arrive at a hotel, whether you are in town for vacation or on a business trip, you are likely looking for a smooth check-in, a comfortable room, and great customer service to help your trip get off to the right start. But, unfortunately, issues can arise during any hotel stay, even at 5-star hotels, whose ratings don't always equate to luxury. 

While some issues (like sharing a wall with a noisy neighbor or the pool being too cold) can be annoying, they aren't violations of any formal law. However, some common mishaps can cross into illegal territory in certain circumstances, so it is essential that guests know their rights upon arrival. From hidden hotel fees to strange rules about who is and isn't allowed in your room, we look at five things hotels do that aren't just inconvenient, they're outright illegal.

Armed with this knowledge, you'll be better able to handle any situation that arises. And while this list doesn't constitute legal advice, knowing your rights will help you protect yourself and stop a nefarious hotel from continuing to infringe on the rights of future guests, too. As laws and regulations vary widely by state, it's also well worth checking local legislation before traveling to ensure you're on firm legal ground. 

It's every traveler's worst nightmare: You arrive at your hotel ready to check in, only to have the front desk tell you that they've given your room away to someone else. Frustrating? Absolutely. Illegal? The inconvenient answer is that it depends. As a guest, when you are making a hotel reservation, you are entering into a legally binding contract with the hotel, so the answer will be in the fine print. This often comes down to the type of reservation you've made and whether money has exchanged hands.

If you have simply confirmed a room without paying a deposit (usually on the condition that you will arrive by a specific time), but then arrive past the agreed-upon time, the hotel is within its rights to refuse you the room. However, if you have a guaranteed reservation, meaning you have paid in advance, the hotel must hold your room; otherwise, it would be in breach of contract and open itself to a potential lawsuit.

If you have a guaranteed or prepaid reservation and the hotel has given away your room, it is expected to provide a reasonable substitute. If that room ends up costing more or is even located elsewhere, the hotel is responsible for paying the difference in cost or any travel expenses associated with moving to a different location. Failure to do so would breach the reservation contract. It's important to note, however, that unless you have it in writing that the hotel will provide you with a specific room, it is not obligated to do so. So if you have your heart set on a special suite, be sure to request it at the time of booking and get the approval in writing.

When we settle in for a hotel stay, we want to feel that everything we leave in our room will be safe. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Though it's difficult to know how much property is stolen from hotel rooms in the United States, as it's often not reported, there are some laws that can help you if your items are stolen. While you might think a hotel is liable for any belongings stolen, that's not necessarily the case, particularly since many states have passed laws limiting liability for stolen property. For instance, in Florida, liability tops out at $500 unless you file an inventory with the hotel, but even then, the cap rises to $1,000. In Virginia, the amount is even lower, with the Code of Virginia stating that "No hotel shall be held liable in a sum greater than $300 ... when such loss takes place from the room or rooms occupied by the guest."

It's worth reading the signage in your room, which should indicate how much the hotel can be held responsible for. There are cases in which innkeepers can get into trouble when a guest's property is stolen. If guests can show that the hotel did not provide reasonable care to ensure their belongings were safe, they can recover compensation for the item. If the in-room safe was faulty, the locks on the doors did not work properly, or the hotel hired an employee with a known history of theft, this may constitute negligence of care, and, as a paying guest, you could be entitled to reimbursement for the full value of your property.

If you are concerned about your valuables, it's always worth asking the hotel about their policies at the time of reservation and reading any documents you sign at check-in carefully, as these can sometimes include liability limitations. 

If you pay your hotel bill and are taken aback by some of the charges, you'll want to take a close look at what you agreed to at the time of booking and what hidden hotel fees might be crossing the line into illegal territory. Hotels are notorious for slipping in resort fees — additional nightly charges that cover the cost of amenities — onto the bill, but as of May 2025, that is no longer allowed.

In May of 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) instituted its Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, also known as the Junk Fee Rule, which aims to give consumers a clear understanding of what they are paying. According to NerdWallet, guests spent an average of $33 per night on resort fees in 2025, a figure that can quickly add up. Now, thanks to the FTC rule, all mandatory fees must be shown to consumers up front so that people will understand exactly what they will be spending. 

This means that whatever you are charged at the end of your trip should match what was advertised at the time of booking, and it puts an end to bait-and-switch tactics that use low pricing to bring in reservations. It's a significant victory for consumers, and hotels must follow the regulation carefully or risk steep civil penalties. The FTC has also made it easy for guests to report instances in which they feel they have been victims of hidden fees by allowing them to submit a report on its dedicated website.

First, let's distinguish between a pet, an emotional support animal, and a service dog. Obviously, most of us are familiar with pets that are loved like family but don't have any formal training to assist their owner or provide emotional support. If you want to bring a pet on vacation, you'll need to look for a pet-friendly hotel, as any privately owned business is allowed to set its own regulations for the animals it allows on site. But there are exceptions.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that service animals are allowed to enter public places with their owners, regardless of the business's pet policies. This includes, among other places, restaurants, hospitals, and, of course, hotels. However, it is important to distinguish between a service dog and an emotional support dog, as hotels are not legally required to allow the latter to enter. While an emotional support dog can help reduce anxiety and provide comfort, it is not individually trained to perform a task that assists its owner in a way that's directly connected to a disability, unlike service dogs. 

It's important to note that hotels are not legally allowed to ask service dog owners for certification or to ask their animal to perform a task to prove that it is trained. They can, according to the ADA, ask if the dog is a service animal that helps with a disability and inquire about the task that it performs. That being said, any hotel that blocks a valid service animal is in violation of the ADA, which is a federal civil rights law, and could face heavy fines and potential lawsuits in doing so. 

In general, hotel staff are allowed to enter a guest's room to perform daily cleaning and extraordinary maintenance; neither they nor anyone else may enter a room without cause. This includes law enforcement, which would need a warrant to enter your room. So, while one of the disturbing facts about almost all hotel rooms is that hotel staff have the means to enter your room, as long as you are a guest who is complying with normal standards of behavior, it would be considered an invasion of your privacy for staff to enter the room unannounced.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution establishes a reasonable right to privacy for all Americans, and this carries through to your hotel room. However, there are some instances when staff may enter a guest's room. If a guest is creating a noise disturbance or there is suspected illegal activity occurring in the room, the hotel may enter your room. In the same token, they may also enter to perform a wellness check.

As more data privacy laws are being created around the United States, keeping guests' personal information secure is more important than ever. For instance, California, Colorado, and New Jersey are just some of the states that have implemented robust privacy laws to protect consumer data, which means that hotels have to be more careful than ever about how they use their guests' personal information. This can also naturally bleed over into disclosing the specific room a guest is in. Violations are subject to hefty fines, so hotels should work with staff to ensure guests know how their data is used and obtain permission for any disclosures to third parties.

To compile this list of hotel behaviors that violate the law, we conducted extensive research, scouring legal websites such as FindLaw and LegalMatch, as well as individual law firms, to investigate state-specific protections for hotel guests. In several instances, we also went directly to the regulatory body or state legislation websites to examine the precise wording of the rules or laws in question. We also cross-referenced legal statements with official rulings from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

Please note that this article refers to hotels in the United States, and legalities will vary by country. Within the United States, consumer protections likewise can vary widely by state. It is always wise to consult the legal code or contact a practicing attorney in the state where your hotel stay is taking place to determine the best course of action if you feel that a hotel has violated the law.