THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 20, 2025  |  
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 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
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Brian X. Chen


NextImg:Hotel and Ticket Sites Now Show the Full Price, but Hidden Fees Still Lurk

Everyone who has shopped online for hotel rooms, vacation rentals or plane tickets has had the experience of finding a reasonable upfront price that then skyrockets at checkout because of undisclosed fees.

Common culprits include the dreaded resort fee, vacation rental cleaning fees and, on some airlines, the cost of choosing seats. Such annoying costs that creep in at the end of the transaction are widely known as junk fees, which complicate the process of making apples-to-apples price comparisons.

A Federal Trade Commission rule went into effect this month preventing hotels, vacation rentals and ticketing services for live entertainment events from obfuscating extra costs. Those types of businesses are now required to show an upfront price that includes all fees, and they are not allowed to tack on any at the end.

This win for consumers will radically change the way we make bookings online for travel and entertainment. The F.T.C. estimates that Americans waste 53 million hours a year comparing prices on live-event tickets and short-term lodging. Now, we can do a quick web search to get a price comparison across multiple vendors and pick the option that suits our budget.

But — and I’m sorry to be a buzzkill — this is where the good news ends.

Hidden fees still lurk in other areas, like airfares, car rental reservations and movie tickets. In other words, the experience of online booking has improved for some categories but not all.

“People really feel nickel-and-dimed to death,” said Chuck Bell, a director at Consumer Reports, who has lobbied against junk fees for years.


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