Regulatory and Legal Affairs

💰 Sen. Ted Cruz introduced the "No Tax on Tips Act" in January, passed unanimously in the Senate on Tuesday. If enacted, it offers a $25,000 tax deduction for tipped employees earning $160,000 or less. However, 37% of tipped workers in 2022 did not qualify for federal income tax. The bill requires employer payroll taxes and state taxes on tips. Nevada has the highest per capita tipped workers, which Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto emphasized in her support.

💸 Switzerland's price watchdog, on May 22, 2025, mandated Booking.com to cut hotel commission fees by nearly 25% under national pricing laws. This decision, applicable for three years once enacted, comes amidst a broader European trend for greater OTA pricing transparency. Booking.com, planning an appeal, has three months to comply. The commission rates remain unchanged during the appeal. Swiss law already forbids OTAs from enforcing price parity clauses, aligning with recent European Court of Justice support for hotel price flexibility.

🛑 May 21, 2025, UK. Since April 6, 2024, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act mandates full upfront pricing in travel bookings, including fees. An investigation by Which? Travel indicates major companies like Trivago and Loveholidays might be violating this by not listing mandatory fees upfront. While Booking.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com comply, others do not, creating discrepancies. BA Holidays is criticized for not disclosing true prices until late stages, citing “availability changes.”

🚨 Charles Seifert, founder of ItBox, suggests the Building Safety Act 2022 may be amended in autumn 2025 to include hotels. The Act currently covers buildings over 18 meters or with seven or more stories with at least two residential units. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has assessed few of the 14,000 residential buildings. If hotels are included, owners must prepare for potential compliance complexities to avoid penalties, including criminal charges and fines.

💼 Location: Brussels, Belgium. HOTREC seeks a Public Affairs Manager for digital and economic policy advocacy at the EU level. The role involves working with EU institutions, stakeholders, and HOTREC’s 47 member associations. Applicants need 5+ years of relevant experience. Deadline: 2 June 2025. Apply with a CV and cover letter to Sergey Golyshin at [email protected]. More details on the Euractiv JobSite.

🛬 Business travellers exhibit risky behaviour on work trips, with 79% engaging in activities like gambling and ignoring safety advice. World Travel Protection's survey reveals younger travellers (under 34) are almost four times likelier to ignore health and safety advice compared to those over 55. Only 20% maintain their usual behaviour while travelling. The data highlights the need for companies to uphold duty of care obligations, emphasizing pre-trip education on local risks.

🏖️ U.S. travel and tourism industry may lose $12.5 billion in 2025, a 22.5% drop from its 2019 peak, due to Trump administration immigration policies. Projected international spending to decrease to $169 billion from $181 billion in 2024. Border cities and tourist hubs are most affected, with the U.S. Travel Association calling for actions to reassure international visitors of a welcoming U.S. Some domestic destinations might gain from increased local travel.

🛡 U.S. restaurant operators report increased immigration enforcement, especially in Washington, D.C., and Nashville. DHS conducted "worksite enforcement operations" on over 100 D.C. businesses, inspecting I-9 documentation. At least nine restaurants were visited last week, with some operators not cooperating without a warrant. Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) confirmed no arrests from these visits and reached out to Homeland Security for guidance. In Nashville, ICE activity resulted in at least 96 detainments, leading to decreased restaurant business and closures. Nashville's Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is offering I-9 compliance training. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell mandated reporting interactions with federal immigration to his office within one day. The Trump administration aims to deport one million immigrants annually.