Local
Hotels Accused of Price Gouging

May 12, 2008, 1:14 pm

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahomans who were overcharged for hotel rooms during the December ice storm will be offered a refund or free rooms from LaQuinta Inns.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson says the hotel chain violated the state's price gouging law by artificially raising room rates an average of $10 to $20 per night during a declared state of emergency.

Edmondson says the overcharges were from Dec. 10 through Dec. 20 at two LaQuinta hotels in Oklahoma City and one each in Del City and Norman plus LaQuinta-owned Baymont Inns in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Customers who want a refund should contact the attorney general's office. Customers who want free rooms have to do nothing and certificates will be mailed to them starting in late July.

Edmondson says the settlement also includes the company paying $50,000 to the state for consumer protection enforcement activities.


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