Described as a law to make it easier to remove hotel guests who have not paid their bills, Florida Bill SB 606 ("the Bill") includes several new required disclosures that will impact Florida restaurants, hotels, and timeshares. The Bill was signed into law on June 2, 2025, and becomes effective on July 1, 2026.
"Transient public lodging establishments" will be required to provide written notice to guests who do not check out on time that the business wishes for the guest to immediately depart via email, text message, or printed paper. §509.141(2), Fla. Stat. Restaurants may give verbal notice to guests who have paid or failed to pay their bill that the business wishes them to immediately depart. When the notice is in writing, it must state: "You are hereby notified that this establishment no longer desires to entertain you as its guest, and you are requested to leave at once. To remain after the receipt of this notice is a misdemeanor under the laws of this state." Id. If the guest has paid in advance, the business must, when the notice is delivered, return the unused portion of the advanced payment. Id. The business may retain payment for the full day if the guest was entertained at the establishment for any period within that day. Id.
"Transient public lodging establishments" means:
any unit, group of units, dwelling, building, or group of buildings within a single complex of buildings which is rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 consecutive days or which is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests for periods of less than 30 consecutive days.
§509.13(4)(a)(1), Fla. Stat. The Bill specifically anticipates hotels, motels, vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and timeshares within its definitions, stating "transient occupancy" is an "occupancy that is temporary. The term includes the occupancy of a dwelling unit at a hotel, motel, vacation rental, bed and breakfast inn, or time share project ... unless a written rental or lease agreement expressly states that the dwelling unit is the sole residence of the guest." §509.13(12), Fla. Stat.
The Bill further mandates fee disclosures related to food and beverage charges. At any public food establishment, "[e]ach copy of a receipt that a customer receives must contain separate lines for gratuity, an operations charge, and sales tax so that it is clear to the customer what is being charged. If the operations charge includes an automatic gratuity, it must be separately stated on the receipt." §509.214(4), Fla. Stat. If the business chooses to levy an operations charge, it must:
include a notice on the food menu, written contract, and website or mobile application where food and beverage orders are placed, as applicable, that includes the amount or percentage of the operations charge and the purpose of the operations charge. Such notice must appear in a font that is equal to or greater than the font used for menu item descriptions or the general provisions of the written contract. If the public food service establishment does not provide menus, table service, or written contracts for banquet, catering, or event services, the operations charge notice must appear in an obvious and clearly readable manner on the menu board or on an obvious and clearly readable sign by the register where the customer pays.
§509.214(2), Fla. Stat. An operations charge can be, but is not limited to, a delivery charge, service charge, automatic gratuities, or credit card surcharges. Taxes are not "operations charges" under the law. §509.214(1)(b), Fla. Stat.
Although affected businesses have a year to prepare for the changes, we recommend that those businesses start reviewing their operations now to update their applicable menus, written contracts, receipts, websites, and mobile applications where food and beverage orders are placed.
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