The U.S, Federal Trade Commission banned hotels from charging their guests so-called junk fees on their stays.
The rule will require hotels and ticket sellers to disclose total prices, including a plethora of fees upfront. It also prohibits them from concealing any mandatory add-on charges until the last minute of the transaction.
The agency said that the move specifically targeted “bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to hide total prices and bury junk fees in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries.”
Saying that the new rules will save Americans “billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said that “[P]eople deserve to know up-front what they’re being asked to pay – without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid.”
The rule requires service fees, resort fees, and other charges commonly added to bookings to be included in advertised prices. The rule is narrower than what the FTC had proposed in 2023. That rule would have banned such fees regardless of industry.
The FTC passed the rule 4-1. The sole dissenting vote came from Andrew Ferguson. President-elect Donald Trump plans to name Ferguson
Republican Commissioner Melissa Holyoak voted for the rule. She later issued a statement in which she said that it “helps protect consumers and competition, while also preserving flexibility for businesses to engage in lawful advertising and pricing practices.”
The final rule will become effective 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register, coinciding with the first few months of Trump’s administration.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
