New Federal Rule Bans Hidden Fees for Hotels and Tickets for Concerts and Sporting Events
Last updated January 30, 2026
In a rare win for consumers, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees took effect on May 12, 2025. Now, booking websites for hotels, vacation rentals, and concert and sports tickets are required to disclose all mandatory fees in advertised prices. They can no longer surprise customers at checkout by adding “service fees,” “convenience fees,” “resort fees,” etc.
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“The goal of this rule is to facilitate comparison shopping and informed consumer choices,” said Annette Soberats, an attorney in the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices. “Consumers can [now] make informed decisions about where they stay during their travels and which live event tickets they wish to purchase.”
Hidden fees are a hot-button issue for consumers and advocates who pushed for this rule.
A few years ago, Consumers’ Checkbook’s researchers collected prices for 75 sample stays at three-, four-, and five-star hotels in major cities and found that 48 of the 75 hotels charged resort or facility fees, ranging from $2 to $60 per night. On average, mandatory hotel fees added $27 a night.
“Junk fees are an enormous scourge in the American economy,” said Erin Witte, director of Consumer Protection at the Consumer Federation of America.
During its rulemaking process, the FTC received more than 60,000 comments, mostly from consumers. “They were frustrated with trying to buy tickets to an event, only to be hit with expensive and mysterious fees when they went to pay,” Soberats said. “They also told us about hotel room rates that ended up being far higher than what they expected due to poorly disclosed fees.”
What the FTC’s Disclosure Rule Requires
Under the FTC rule, the total price displayed must include “all charges or fees the business knows about and can calculate upfront.” This includes charges for goods or services customers must buy as part of the transaction (like resort fees) or fees for paying with a credit card when there is no other viable payment method. When a fee is refundable, that must be disclosed.
Companies can still exclude from advertised prices taxes or other government charges, shipping charges, and charges for optional goods or services people may select to buy as part of the transaction. But these additional costs must be reported before payment is collected and displayed “as prominently as, or more prominently than, the total price.”
The FTC’s rule applies to advertisements that appear online (including through mobile apps) and in physical ads and price lists.
Price Transparency Makes It Easier to Find the Best Room Rates
Booking a hotel room used to be frustrating because hotels were not required to advertise all-in pricing. In many cases, displayed prices were not the actual per-night rates.
For instance, if you were comparing prices for two hotels, one might have offered a nightly rate of $200 and the other might have charged $175. So, to save money, you’d choose the one for $175.
But, a few screens later, you would discover a $50 “facility fee” was added to the $175 nightly rate. If the hotel with the $200 rate wasn’t charging any fees, it would be cheaper.
Market researchers know that even if you notice the extra fee at checkout, you’re likely to pay the higher price rather than starting the process over again. By requiring hotels to display prices including any required fees, the new rule makes shopping by price far easier.
The New Rule Does Not Prohibit Added Fees
The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees does not limit the add-on fees that hotels and ticket vendors can charge. It only requires that the true price be “clearly and conspicuously” disclosed.
And the rule doesn’t apply to other types of businesses. For example, you’ll still get hit with added fees at checkout when ordering from restaurant delivery apps.
The rule also doesn’t affect airlines. During the Biden administration the federal Department of Transportation proposed separate new rules that would have required airlines to list alongside fares clear disclosures on extra costs for baggage, cancellations, changes, and selecting seats for family. The rule would have made it easier for flyers to see true costs when comparing fares for trips.
The airlines sued, claiming that it would cost them millions to update their websites to accommodate these all-in-pricing disclosures. A federal court put a hold on the rules and the Trump administration hasn’t taken any steps to defend them. Also, the Trump administration killed a different rule that would have required airlines pay passengers $250 to $750 for long delays and cancellations for issues under the airlines’ control.
How It’s Going So Far
I spot-checked the websites of big hotel chains, vacation rental platforms, and ticket sellers. All spit out total prices for my sample stays and concerts, including any mandatory fees.
Vacation rental websites and many hotel chains made it easy to see the breakdown of charges. For example, IHG separated the room rate and the fees and listed those under the total price. Choice and Marriott used pop-ups to provide details of what the resort fee covered and a breakdown of the room rate, taxes, and fees.
Vacation rental sites Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo have also cleaned up how their prices are displayed. Hosts still often charge ridiculous cleaning and “extra guest” fees, but these charges are now baked into the per-night total costs displayed online.
The important thing? All of the vacation lodging outfits are now showing total, all-in prices we can use to sort, filter, and compare to find the best rate.
Similarly, over at Ticketmaster.com, I found the full price of each ticket is listed on seat selection pages. I got a breakdown of the ticket price and service fee once I chose my seats. StubHub also now lists total prices.
More from Checkbook
- 60 Top Travel Tips
- Hotels Gouge Guests with Absurd Resort Fees
- Federal Regulators Cracking Down on Hidden Fees
- Consumerpedia episode 41: Hotel Intel: Finding the Best Rates
- Consumerpedia episode 31: Watch Out for These Common Tricks & Traps
Contributing editor Herb Weisbaum (“The ConsumerMan”) is an Emmy award-winning broadcaster and one of America's top consumer experts. He has been protecting consumers for more than 40 years, having covered the consumer beat for CBS News, The Today Show, and NBCNews.com. You can also find him on Facebook, Blue Sky, X, Instagram, and at ConsumerMan.com.