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The FTC Is Officially Banning Hidden Junk Fees From Hotel And Ticket Prices

(Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The Verge)

By Emma Roth

The Federal Trade Commission has approved a new rule preventing hotels and ticket sellers from hiding extra fees associated with a purchase. Under the rule, businesses must provide “up-front disclosure” of the total price of a hotel stay, vacation rental, or live event tickets before checkout.

The rule, which was first proposed last year, targets the “resort,” “convenience,” and “service” fees that often covertly raise the final price of a hotel stay or tickets for a live concert or sporting event. It doesn’t ban companies from charging these kinds of fees; it just requires them to disclose the total cost of a purchase (including fees) when advertising or displaying their price.

Additionally, businesses must display the total price of a purchase “more prominently than most other pricing information.” Though businesses can still exclude shipping fees and taxes from advertised prices, they must now show these fees before customers start entering their payment information. The rule is set to go into effect in April 2025.

Faith Based Events

With Andrew Ferguson set to replace Khan as FTC Chair under the Trump administration, the agency has approved several last-minute changes that will directly impact consumers. In addition to approving a new “click-to-cancel” rule that should make it easier to cancel subscriptions, the FTC also expanded its Telemarketing Sales Rule to cover tech support scam calls.


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This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.

The Verge is an ambitious multimedia effort founded in 2011 to examine how technology will change life in the future for a massive mainstream audience. Our original editorial insight was that technology had migrated from the far fringes of the culture to the absolute center as mobile technology created a new generation of digital consumers. Now, we live in a dazzling world of screens that has ushered in revolutions in media, transportation, and science. The future is arriving faster than ever.