Restaurants and hospitality: the numbers, the rules, the AI picture.

• FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 16 CFR Part 464 (short-term lodging)

  The rule took effect on May 12, 2025. It covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging, including hotels, motels, inns, short-term rentals and vacation rentals. Any advertised price must clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price, shown more prominently than other pricing information. Total price includes all mandatory fees, such as a resort fee or a mandatory cleaning fee. Government charges and optional add-ons may be excluded, but their nature, purpose and amount must be disclosed before the guest pays. The rule also bans misrepresenting any fee. The FTC FAQ does not mention restaurants.

  What it means: Lead every room rate on your site, ads, metasearch and social posts with the total for the stay, including resort, amenity, cleaning or service fees you require. Show taxes before payment. Check what your booking engine and channel manager display, because the advertised price is still yours. A B&B or inn is in scope if it offers short-term lodging.

  [7] ftc.gov

• State laws on restaurant service charges (California SB 478 and SB 1524; Minnesota Stat. 325D.44)

  California's honest pricing law, in force from July 1, 2024, bans advertising a price that leaves out mandatory fees. The Attorney General says SB 1524 exempts mandatory fees charged by restaurants, bars and select food vendors. The condition: the fee is clearly and conspicuously displayed wherever prices are shown. Hotels remain covered by the general rule. Minnesota's statute, amended in 2024 and 2025, bans prices that omit mandatory fees. A food or beverage establishment, including a hotel, complies if it clearly discloses the percentage of any automatic and mandatory gratuity. Canada's Competition Act treats a price that cannot be attained because of fixed obligatory charges, other than government charges such as taxes, as false or misleading.

  What it means: Print the service charge, its percentage and what it pays for on the menu, the online menu, ordering pages and any ad that shows a price. Use the same words on delivery and reservation platforms. In California, CalRest, the state restaurant association, describes the display standard as larger, contrasting or set-off type. Other states and cities are adding rules, so check yours before you change a fee.

  [8] oag.ca.gov

• FDA menu labeling, 21 CFR 101.11 (chains of 20 or more)

  Calorie labeling applies to restaurants and similar food establishments in a chain with 20 or more locations. The locations must share a name and offer substantially the same menu items. Covered places must show calories on menus and menu boards, including electronic and internet menus, with a statement about a 2,000-calorie daily diet. They must provide further nutrition information on request. A restaurant outside the definition may voluntarily register, and it then becomes covered and is no longer subject to non-identical state or local nutrition labeling rules.

  What it means: A single independent restaurant, cafe or bakery is usually outside the federal rule. Do not publish calorie or nutrition claims you cannot support, and check whether your state or city has its own menu rules. If you grow toward 20 locations under one name, plan calorie display for printed menus, boards and your online menu at the same time.

  [9] fda.gov

• Alcohol advertising and promotions: TTB rules (27 CFR Parts 6 and 7) and state liquor rules

  Federal alcohol advertising rules bind producers, importers and wholesalers. The malt beverage rule at 27 CFR 7.231, for example, says it does not apply to a retailer unless the retailer is also a brewer, wholesaler, bottler or importer. Tied-house rules limit what suppliers can give a bar or restaurant. Under 27 CFR 6.84, they may supply branded items such as menu cards and coasters, but may not pay the retailer to use them. Under 27 CFR 6.98, a supplier's ad may list two or more unaffiliated retailers, without retail prices. Retail drink promotions are mainly state law. Massachusetts, for example, bans free drinks, limited-time drink discounts and unlimited drinks for a fixed price, except at private functions. It also bans advertising those practices (204 CMR 4.03).

  What it means: Check your state liquor authority before you advertise a happy hour, drink discount, bottomless brunch or drinking game. Do not accept payment or free advertising from a brewery, winery or distributor in return for featuring its products. A brewpub, winery tasting room or distillery bar is also an industry member, so the federal advertising rules apply to it directly.

  [10] law.cornell.edu

• ADA Title III websites, and the hotel Reservation Rule (28 CFR 36.302(e))

  The Justice Department's 2022 web guidance says Title III covers businesses open to the public, including food and drink establishments and hotels, inns and motels. It says the ADA applies to their goods and services on the web. It sets no detailed technical standard and points to WCAG as helpful guidance. In Robles v. Domino's Pizza (January 15, 2019), the Ninth Circuit held the ADA applied to the chain's website and app because they connect customers to its restaurants. Hotels have an extra rule. Reservations made by any means, including third parties, must describe accessible features in enough detail for a guest to judge whether a room meets their needs.

  What it means: Build menus, ordering and booking flows that work with a keyboard and a screen reader, with readable contrast, alt text and labeled form fields. Publish the menu as text, not only as a PDF or image. Hotels should describe each accessible room type and the property's accessible features on their own booking pages and confirm third-party listings show the same. In Acheson Hotels v. Laufer (2023), the Supreme Court noted the plaintiff had sued hundreds of hotels over missing accessibility information.

  [11] law.cornell.edu

• FTC Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (16 CFR Part 465) and Endorsement Guides (16 CFR 255.2)

  The reviews rule took effect on October 21, 2024. It bans fake or false reviews, buying them, and incentives conditioned on a positive or negative review. It also bans undisclosed insider reviews and suppressing reviews through intimidation or unfounded legal threats. Incentives for honest reviews are not banned by the rule. The Endorsement Guides go further. Example 11 says inviting only the most satisfied customers to post reviews may be unfair or deceptive. Example 8 treats hiding reviews under four stars as misleading.

  What it means: Ask every guest the same way, or no one. Do not route unhappy guests to a private form and happy ones to Google. Staff, friends and family should not review the business. Never threaten a guest over a review. On your own site, show a fair sample of reviews, not only five-star ones.

  [12] ftc.gov

• Google and Yelp review and listing policies

  Google's contribution policy bans reviews paid for directly or in kind, and incentives in exchange for posting any review. It also bars discouraging negative reviews or selectively soliciting positive ones. Yelp's content guidelines say businesses should never ask customers to write reviews. Google's Business Profile guidelines say menus must reflect what is actually available, and sample menus of popular items should not be submitted. Menu URLs cannot link directly to third-party ordering or delivery services. A restaurant inside a hotel needs its own profile.

  What it means: No free dessert, drink or discount for a review on Google, even an honest one, because Google bans incentives the FTC rule allows. On Yelp, do not ask at all; earn reviews through the visit. Keep separate profiles for a hotel and its restaurant or bar, and keep the full, current menu on your own site.

  [13] support.google.com

• Gift card rules, Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.20)

  Store gift cards and gift certificates sold to the public cannot have funds expire sooner than five years after issue or the last load. Dormancy or inactivity fees are allowed only after a year with no activity, at most one a month, and only when clearly disclosed on the card. Fee and expiration terms must be disclosed before purchase and printed on the card itself. Loyalty, award or promotional cards are excluded from most rules but must say so on the front and show their own expiration date.

  What it means: Holiday gift card campaigns are a staple for restaurants, so check the card and the online checkout. Do not print a one-year expiry on a purchased gift card. Mark promotional cards, such as a free voucher for a future visit, as promotional with their expiry date on the front. State gift card laws can be stricter.

  [14] law.cornell.edu

• Telephone Consumer Protection Act and FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200 (text clubs)

  Autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls and texts to mobile numbers need the prior express written consent of the person called. Consent can be revoked by any reasonable method and must be honored within ten business days. Telephone solicitations to residential numbers are barred before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. local time, and to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, subject to listed exceptions.

  What it means: A text club for specials needs a clear opt-in that names the number and the kind of messages, kept on record. A reservation confirmation is not consent to market. Honor STOP and any other reasonable opt-out quickly. Do not import phone numbers from a booking platform into a marketing list.

  [15] law.cornell.edu

This is general information, not legal advice. Pricing, liquor, accessibility and consumer protection rules differ by state, city, province and country, and they change. Check your state liquor authority, your attorney general, your local health department and a qualified attorney before you change fees, run drink promotions or publish a booking flow.