@neveroptedin Mandatory fees now belong in the advertised price. Did your checkout total match the first price you saw? #hiddenfees #resortfees #junkfee... See more
The claim
Effective May 12, 2025, the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 C.F.R. Part 464) requires a business that includes pricing information in its ads or other offers for live-event tickets or short-term lodging to disclose the total price — including all mandatory fees but excluding government charges, shipping charges and optional add-ons — upfront and more prominently than other pricing information, and to disclose those excluded charges plus the final amount of payment before asking the consumer to pay.
The receipt
Effective May 12, 2025, the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 16 C.F.R. Part 464, prohibits bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to obscure and misrepresent total prices and fees for live-event tickets and short-term lodging.
Under the Rule, a business that includes pricing information in its ads and other offers must tell people upfront the total price they will pay for live-event tickets or short-term lodging. The total price includes all charges or fees the business knows about and can calculate upfront, including charges or fees for mandatory goods or services people have to buy as part of the same transaction.
A resort charges a nightly rate of $199, plus a mandatory resort fee of $39 per day. The required resort fee must be included in the total price …
The Rule covers any business that offers, displays, or advertises live-event tickets or short-term lodging, including third-party platforms, resellers, and travel agents.
Businesses that violate any FTC Trade Regulation Rule – including this one – could be ordered to bring their practices into compliance, refund money back to consumers, and pay civil penalties.
What the rule doesn't cover
It applies to live-event tickets and short-term lodging only. Government charges, shipping and optional add-ons can be left out of the upfront total — but they, and the final amount, have to be disclosed before you're asked to pay. The FAQ itself is FTC staff guidance; the rule is what's binding.
What you can do
If a ticket or lodging total at checkout is higher than the price you were first shown, compare the two and check whether the difference is a mandatory fee or one of the charges the rule allows to be added later.
Consumer info, not financial advice.