Owner of Pasadena's Langham hotel to pay $320K to settle price gouging lawsuit

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- The owner of the Langham Hotel in Pasadena will pay $320,000 to settle a lawsuit that alleges it price gouged victims following the 2025 January wildfires.

The consumer protection civil lawsuit, filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, alleges that customers were charged more than 10% above advertised rates before the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out and a state of emergency was declared.

"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," L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. "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."

The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, but it did cooperate with the prosecutor's investigation.

The Langham must also pay $216,000 in restitution to eligible guests who were overcharged for stays at the Pasadena location.

Hotel management officials said the rates were caused by automated pricing tool, which "temporarily generated a limited number of unintended rates." They added those rates were ultimately reviewed and updated, and all affected guests have since been refunded.

Separate from the lawsuit, hotel management says it donated more than 1,100 complimentary room nights during the crisis to support first responders and displaced residents.