'Junk fees' get tossed with new FTC rule on concert tickets and hotel rooms

Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald on Dec 17, 2024

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The Biden administration notched another victory in the war against unnecessary consumer fees Tuesday when the Federal Trade Commission announced its final “junk fees rule” had been approved and would take effect in 120 days.

According to FTC Chair Lina Khan, the rule finalized this week will prohibit bait-and-switch pricing for live-event ticket sales and hotel and short-term rental stays. That means it will no longer be the case that a consumer trying to attend a concert or vacation in a new city has to wonder what the final bill will be at the point of sale.

“People 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 FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time,” Khan said.

According to the FTC, Americans waste a total of 53 million hours each year just trying to figure out how much they are actually going to pay for hotel stays and concert tickets. The rule’s time saving alone will save consumers around $11 billion annually, they say.

The final rule directs businesses to disclose the true price of a ticket or hotel room “clearly and conspicuously” and prohibits misrepresentation of cost in any offer, display, or advertisement. Going forward, the FTC says, “the most prominent price in an ad needs to be the all-in total price — truthful itemization and breakdowns are fine but should not overshadow what consumers want to know: the real total.”

According to the FTC, this new rule will bring the ticketing and lodging industries inline with the rest of retailers, which are already “prohibited from deceiving consumers about fees and pricing per longstanding law.”

The change comes after President Joe Biden also directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to lower overdraft and credit card late fees, the Department of Transportation to propose a ban on airlines charging family seating fees and require upfront disclosure of baggage and change fees, and the Federal Communications Commission to make it so “consumers see upfront the full price and terms for their internet service.”

“We all know the experience of encountering a hidden fee at the very last stage of check out—these junk fees sneak onto your bill and companies end up making you pay more because they can. Those fees add up, taking real money out of the pockets of Americans,” Biden said in a statement.

________