What Are Seller of Travel Laws?
Seller of Travel (SOT) laws are state-level regulations that require businesses selling travel services to register with the state, maintain trust accounts, and comply with consumer protection rules. These laws are designed to protect consumers from fraud and ensure travel sellers meet financial responsibility standards.
How This Affects groupRooms
Because groupRooms connects travelers with hotels, we must comply with Seller of Travel requirements in every state where we operate. Some states have particularly strict or complex SOT registration requirements that make it impractical for us to offer our services there at this time.
Where We Operate
We currently only do business in the United States, excluding: CA, FL, HI, IA, WA (Seller of Travel requirements).
Why These States Are Excluded
- California (CA): Requires SOT registration and a trust account for consumer funds.
- Florida (FL): Requires SOT registration and a surety bond.
- Hawaii (HI): Requires a travel agency license and bonding.
- Iowa (IA): Requires registration as a travel seller.
- Washington (WA): Requires registration and maintains a consumer protection fund.
We are actively evaluating options to expand into these states while remaining fully compliant with all applicable laws.