January 22, 2026
Zohran Mamdani Deads Hotel ‘Junk Fees’ Making It More Affordable To Enjoy NYC
In Mamdani’s mind, “the price you see is the price you pay.”
In less than 30 days, newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made good on his campaign promises to expand free childcare and public bathrooms. Now, he is taking it a step further by tackling the hospitality industry and getting rid of annoying hotel “junk fees.”
Mamdani made the groundbreaking announcement at The Whitney Museum of American Art, adding the rule that applies everywhere outside city borders, to ban hotel resort fees, surprise deposits, and others that the mayor calls “junk fees.” Going into effect by mid-February, Newsday reports the rule extends to any place a New York City resident wants to stay at an advertised-in-NYC hotel, Airbnb rental, or other temporary lodging.
In Mamdani’s mind, “the price you see is the price you pay.” “I speak of the hidden fees that plague New Yorkers’ lives anytime they have the audacity to book a hotel room, not only when they’re in our city, but when they’re booking that room from here for wherever they’re traveling around the country,” he said.
Under the rule, once developed by the former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, hotels and other temporary lodging spaces must include the entire cost of a night’s stay in the advertised fee. In addition, hotels can no longer add a surcharge under names like resort fee or destination fee, ridding guests of surprises by the actual cost that was never advertised.
During the press conference, the city’s youngest mayor said, “Life in our city does not need to be defined by hardship,” and noted that the rule will benefit not only New Yorkers but tourists as well. In preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, the city anticipates an estimated one million visitors.
Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Sam Levine, labeled the rule as “the strongest hotel consumer protection anywhere in the country,” as hundreds of people have complained about the “junk fees.” In 2025 alone, the city received 300 complaints in correlation to hidden hotel fees or unexpected credit card holds, according to The Gothamist. The new rule will require hotels to disclose the fees upfront.
Mamdani said the rule is a “warning” for “those who have long approached business as an opportunity to mistreat those who they serve,” simply seeking “transparency.”
The move is being celebrated by unions across the city as they are still getting used to the new mayor and his administration. Rich Maroko, president of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, representing 40,000 hotel workers, celebrated the crackdown and praised Mamdani for tackling “corporate lawbreakers.”
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