Consumer Protection
California bill would ban restaurant reservation resale markups
AB 1640 from Assemblymember Catherine Stefani would keep brokers and apps from charging more than the original reservation price unless the restaurant signs off in writing. It also raises the required online disclosure type to make the warning easier to spot.
California would treat restaurant reservations like a booking, not a commodity. The bill also makes the required warnings bigger and easier to see online.
- Would ban reselling restaurant reservations above the original price
- Restaurants could still authorize transfers in writing
- Required disclosures would get bigger type
- Enforcement could come from state, local and private plaintiffs
- Fines collected by the Attorney General would fund the new program
A restaurant table in California could stop turning into a resale asset. AB 1640, from Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, would make it illegal to sell or transfer a restaurant reservation, or help someone do it, for more than the original price unless the restaurant has written permission.
The bill also reaches the kind of disclosure language people tend to skim past. It would raise the size of certain required notices from boldface 14-point type to 16-point type, so the warnings are harder to miss on a screen or page.
Who can go after a violation
The proposal gives several public and private routes for enforcement. The Attorney General, county counsels, city attorneys and people who suffer actual harm could seek civil penalties, attorneys’ fees and other relief.
If the Attorney General collects a civil penalty, the money would go into a new California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act Fund. The fund would be available for administering the act after legislative appropriation.
For diners, the point is plain: a reservation would have to stay what it was when it was made, not become something someone can mark up and resell like a hot ticket.