Louisiana House passes bill that aims to stop reservation reselling without restaurant consent

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A proposed bill that would crack down on companies that book and resell restaurant reservations without the restaurant’s permission was passed by the Louisiana House unanimously Thursday.

House Bill 90, sponsored by Rep. Troy Hebert (R-Lafayette), would prohibit third-party platforms from listing or selling restaurant reservations unless they have a written agreement with the food service establishment.

Hebert told lawmakers during the April 15 House Commerce Committee meeting that the bill was created after complaints from restaurants about AI-powered bots and booking services getting high-demand reservations and reselling them for a high price.

Under the bill, the Louisiana Attorney General would have the authority to fine violators up to $1,000 per violation, per day. All fines collected would go into the state’s consumer protection fund.

The bill now heads to the Louisiana Senate. If passed, the law would add a new section titled the “Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy” provision to the state’s consumer protection statutes.

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