In a recent legal filing, Alexander Xue has lodged a verified complaint against Marriott International, Inc. and Van Ness Hotel Partners, LLC, alleging multiple violations of California business and consumer protection laws. The complaint was filed on May 28, 2024, in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco.
The lawsuit centers around claims that the defendants engaged in deceptive business practices at their Courtyard by Marriott hotel located on Van Ness Avenue. According to Xue, during his stays from May 14-17 and May 17-28, 2024, he was charged undisclosed fees labeled as "Healthy SF Fee" and various other fraudulent taxes that were not initially disclosed at the time of booking. Xue asserts that these charges were added without prior notice and misrepresented as legitimate taxes.
Xue's complaint details how he made reservations through Marriott's official mobile application, which advertised nightly room rates with "taxes and all fees included." However, upon checking out of the hotel, he discovered discrepancies between the quoted prices and the amounts charged to his credit card. Specifically, he was charged $1,324.19 instead of $1,313.50 for his first reservation and $2,011.48 instead of $1,978.41 for his second reservation.
The plaintiff alleges that the additional charges included a "Healthy SF Fee" of $2.25 per night plus an extra 16.5% in taxes and assessments on this fee—charges that were never disclosed during booking or at any other time before checkout. Furthermore, Xue claims that other fees labeled as "CA Tourism Tax" and "BDA Tax" were falsely represented as government-mandated taxes when they were not.
Xue contends that these actions constitute unfair competition under California Business and Professions Code §§17200 et seq., false advertising under §§17500 et seq., and violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) under Civil Code §§1750 et seq. He argues that these deceptive practices have damaged him financially and misled consumers into believing they were paying legitimate taxes rather than arbitrary surcharges imposed by the hotel.
In his request for relief, Xue is seeking actual damages amounting to $20,000 along with punitive damages to deter future misconduct by the defendants. Additionally, he demands injunctive relief to prevent Marriott International from continuing these deceptive practices. This includes prohibiting them from using misleading terms like "tax" for non-governmental surcharges and ensuring full disclosure of all fees to customers before booking.
Xue is representing himself pro se in this matter (Case ID: CGC-24-615033).