May 5, 2005 - Florida's top prosecutor said on Wednesday he's settled out of court with one of four hotel chains under scrutiny for hidden energy surcharges.

Attorney General Charlie Crist said the agreement stems from a raft of consumer complaints dating to the summer of 2001 when many guests said they were hit with surprise fees to cover soaring energy bills.

Crist said Starwood Hotels & Resorts entered into a formal agreement with the state that would curb the practice for at least two years at 14 hotels the company owns or manages in Florida, including seven in Broward County.

The largest of the hotels on the list is the 998-room Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood.

Although Starwood isn't charged with violating any laws, the nationwide chain agreed to pay $75,000 to cover the costs of the attorney general's investigation and donate $175,000 to combat crime against senior citizens.

"Whether traveling for business or on vacation," Crist said in a statement, "Floridians and those coming to our state should not arrive at their hotels and be surprised by unexpected hotel charges."

A spokeswoman for Starwood said Wednesday she was not aware of the settlement and could not comment.

While it is not illegal for hotels to add charges other than the room rate to a hotel bill, if those charges are automatically tacked on for every guest, they must be disclosed in advance.

Hotels this year are paying more to air condition rooms, light corridors, heat pools and shuttle guests to the airport. But Crist said his investigation of the Starwood, Marriott, Hilton and Wyndham chains isn't related to recent oil prices increases.

Crist said he has not seen a flood of complaints about energy surcharges this year. "Not as yet," he said, "but it would not shock me to see someone make that connection."

Under its agreement, Starwood's hotels in Florida won't impose automatic charges, including resort fees, on hotel guests, unless they are part of a group that has agreed in a contract to pay the charges. Starwood's Florida hotels in the future won't make such contracts, the agreement says.

Starwood runs some of the bigger hotels in Broward County, including Sheraton Suites hotels in Plantation and Fort Lauderdale.

In May 2002, then-Attorney General Bob Butterworth filed a civil complaint against an affiliate of Wyndham International, saying it added $2.50 to $3 daily energy surcharges on guest bills without offering notification. That litigation is unresolved, Crist said.

Later in 2002, the Starwood, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt chains agreed to provide $61 million of discount coupons to consumers to settle a class-action suit in state court in Los Angeles.

Crist said his agreement with Starwood does not directly compensate guests who paid the 2001 surcharges.

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