Senate Bill (SB) 478 is a new California legislation that requires Google to change its display of prices, and it takes effect July 1, 2024. Continue reading to know about this policy, the changes to the Hotels product, and what you need to do to be ready for the launch.
What is SB 478?
This legislation mandates the inclusion of all non-governmental fees in hotel prices advertised to California users. The law applies to hotel room sellers operating in California and those advertising to California residents.
Changes coming to Google’s products
For California users and those looking at California hotels, the default price displayed on Google will combine both the base rate and the non-governmental fees included in your feed. This change will apply to all instances where we present a hotel price (for example, booking links, display prices, map pins, and more).
How can partners be ready?
Partners can prepare for this launch by confirming that you’re providing the correct price information in your price feeds, and specifically ensure you’re breaking out taxes and fees accurately based on your feed type:
- Push, Pull, and Changed Pricing partners: Confirm you’re using
<OtherFees>and<Tax>correctly in your Transaction Messages. - ARI partners: Confirm you have the appropriate taxes and fees included in your “Rate” and “TaxandFeeInfo” messages. Learn more about the Tax and Fee Message.
- Length of Stay API pricing partners should use the new “fees” array to send fees separately from taxes.
Tax and fee policy reminder
Partners are prohibited from manipulating the price breakdown by decreasing the base rate while increasing taxes and/or fees. Review our Taxes and Fees policy.
After this legislation takes effect on July 1, 2024, our definition of base rate for impacted properties and users will include fees when assessing compliance with this policy.