Oklahomans who were overcharged for hotel rooms during the December 2007 ice storms will receive free rooms or refunds after Attorney General Drew Edmondson settled a price gouging case against LaQuinta Inns.
The AG’s office said an investigation found that the company violated Oklahoma’s Emergency Price Stabilization Act by artificially raising its room rates during a declared state of emergency. The company operates hotels under the names LaQuinta Inns, LaQuinta Inns and Suites and Baymont Inns and Suites.
The overcharges ran, on average, between $10 and $20 per night, Edmondson said in a statement released by his office. “We are still working to determine the exact number of consumers who were overcharged. We are dealing with six locations, with a total of 735 rooms, over a 10-day period,” he said.
According to the agreement, LaQuinta will provide a free night’s stay to eligible consumers who stayed one to three nights. Consumers who stayed four to six nights will receive two free nights and consumers who stayed seven or more nights will receive three free nights. The free nights are received on a per room basis, are not subject to blackout dates and can be used at any LaQuinta hotel within the continental United States. The certificates expire two years from the date of issuance.
Consumers who stayed at the following locations between Dec. 10 and Dec. 20, 2007, may be eligible:
La Quinta 632, 5501 Tinker Diagonal, Del City, OK 73115;
La Quinta 940, 800 South Meridian, Oklahoma City, OK 73108;
La Quinta 967, 930 Ed Noble Drive, Norman, OK 73072;
La Quinta 179, 4829 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73132;
Baymont Inn 4014, 4530 East Skelly Drive, Tulsa, OK 74135;
Baymont Inn 807, 8315 South I-35, Oklahoma City, OK 73149.
Free room certificates will be mailed to eligible consumers starting in late July. LaQuinta will distribute certificates to eligible consumers unless the consumer contacts the attorney general to decline.
Eligible consumers who wish to receive a reimbursement for the overcharge instead of the free room should contact the attorney general’s office by June 12 at (405) 521-3921, www.oag.ok.gov or in writing at 313 NE 21st Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
Consumers will need to present documentation of their stay. Consumers with questions regarding this settlement should contact the attorney general’s office.
The company will also pay the state $50,000 to be used for consumer protection enforcement activities.
Edmondson said business travelers who stayed at these locations during this time but were charged previously-negotiated corporate rates are not eligible. The settlement is intended for those people displaced by the ice storm, he said.
Oklahoma’s price gouging statute prohibits an increase of more than 10 percent in the price of most goods and services when a state of emergency has been declared.
Source: Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, www.oag.state.ok.us
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