Langham Hotels Pacific Corporation must additionally pay at least $216,795 in restitution to eligible Pasadena hotel guests for illegal overcharges 

July 14, 2026 – PASADENA, CA – Langham Hotels Pacific Corporation will pay $320,000 to settle a consumer protection civil lawsuit brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office alleging the company price gouged wildfire victims and other guests who stayed at its Pasadena hotel during the January 2025 wildfires and resulting state of emergency.

“It is reprehensible to overcharge and take advantage of wildfire victims who were in desperate need of housing as they fled their homes from raging fires last year,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “During a time when our community was meant to come together to help those in need, Langham Hotels Pacific Corporation profited from other people’s tragedies. Since the devastating fires, my office has been working closely with our law enforcement and consumer agency partners to combat price gouging, looting, unlicensed contracting and other crimes of opportunity in disaster zones. I’m grateful for our Consumer Protection Division, particularly Head Deputy District Attorney Alex Karkanen and Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Steven Wang, and our partners at the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office for achieving this important victory for wildfire victims.”

“My office values our partnership with the District Attorney’s Office on consumer protection enforcement, and we are committed to preventing price gouging in the County,” said Los Angeles County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison. “This settlement provides full refunds of the illegal overcharges to consumers who were price gouged during a horrifying wildfire emergency and sends a message to other businesses to comply with the law.”

On January 7, 2025, the day the wildfires broke out, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. This proclamation triggered California’s price gouging protections under California Penal Code section 396, which were extended through July 1, 2025. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors also passed a series of motions extending price gouging protections for hotel guests in Los Angeles County from Jan. 7, 2025, to March 29, 2026.

Langham’s Pasadena hotel, Langham Huntington Pasadena, offered 379 hotel rooms, 26 suites and eight cottages for rent in Pasadena through its website and third-party websites.

The lawsuit alleged that Langham violated California’s anti-price gouging law, and therefore the state’s unfair competition law, by charging its Pasadena hotel guests more than 10 percent above the hotel’s regular rates as advertised immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency.

Under the judgment, Langham will pay $300,000 in civil penalties and $20,000 in investigative costs to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office.

In addition, Langham must pay restitution and issue refunds to eligible hotel guests who stayed at its Pasadena hotel between Jan. 7, 2025, and March 29, 2026, for all amounts paid above the maximum allowable hotel rate. The parties have calculated the total refund amount due to hotel guests at $216,795 between January and April 2025 alone.

Langham must pay the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs any refund amounts that remain undeliverable after reasonable efforts to locate and refund all eligible hotel guests.

Further, Langham must modify any automated, algorithmic or other pricing systems to ensure prices are not unlawfully increased during a declared state of emergency.

Langham cooperated with the investigation and did not admit liability.

Civil case 26STCV18042 was prosecuted by Head Deputy District Attorney Alex Karkanen and Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Steven Wang of the Consumer Protection Division on behalf of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office