OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (AP) -- A Muskogee hotel owner will refund more than $2,200 to almost 70 consumers in a price-gouging case stemming from last year's ice storms.
Attorney General Drew Edmondson said Tuesday the California-based owner of the La Quinta Inn and Suites reached an agreement with the state.
The hotel was accused of violating Oklahoma's price-gouging statute by illegally increasing room rates during last December's ice storms. The Emergency Price Stabilization Act prohibits artificially raising room rates during a declared state of emergency.
Edmondson says nearly 70 people who stayed at the hotel between Dec. 10 and Dec. 20, 2007, will receive refunds. He says the overcharges averaged about $20 per room, per night.
The company also will revise its operating procedures to comply with Oklahoma's price gouging law.
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