Hidden ticket fees and vacation rental fees will be banned in America

Hidden ticket fees and vacation rental fees will be banned in America



CNN

The Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban hotels, ticket sales and short-term rental companies from including hidden junk fees in their total price.

Instead of charging consumers with “convenience” or “service” fees for hotel bookings and concert tickets at checkout, the FTC’s new rule aims to ensure that pricing information is presented transparently before consumers agree to pay.

“People deserve to know what they will pay in advance – without worrying about being hit with mysterious fees later that they didn’t plan for and can’t avoid,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement announcing the rule. “The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees for live event tickets, hotels and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours of wasted time.”

The final rule does not limit what sellers can charge for a product or service. Instead, companies must display the total price, including any additional fees, more clearly than other pricing information.

The rule was adopted with bipartisan support from the FTC commissioners. Andrew Ferguson, chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to succeed Khan as FTC chairman, was the lone dissenter.

In a statement, Ferguson, who currently serves as commissioner of the FTC, said that his decision to vote against the rule had nothing to do with its merits, but rather that he believes President Biden’s FTC will no longer issue new rules should be enacted in the wake of Trump’s election victory.

“I object only on the grounds that the days of Biden-Harris FTC rulemaking are over,” Ferguson said. “This lame-duck commission should give its regulatory pen a much-needed rest.”

“My vote … should not be taken to represent my position on the merits of the Final Rule or whether the Commission under President Trump should enforce the Final Rule,” Ferguson added.

With the adoption of the final rule, the FTC will have the authority to impose monetary penalties on short-term rental and live event ticketing providers that do not disclose their full price to consumers in advance. The new rule is set to take effect 120 days after Tuesday’s announcement, long after Biden leaves office.

Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster, the largest concert ticketing company in the U.S., praised the FTC’s new rule in a statement.

“We’ve led the industry by introducing flat pricing at all Live Nation venues and festivals, and welcome the FTC’s industry-wide mandate so fans can now see the total price of a ticket right up front, no matter where they go.” See a show or buy a ticket,” the company said.

The new rule is part of a broader effort by the FTC under Biden’s administration to combat junk fees. Over the past three years, the FTC has announced action against companies like Invitation Homes and Vonage that charge consumers junk fees.

Biden spoke of his intention to crack down on hidden fees in October 2023 when the FTC unveiled the first proposed rule.

“People are tired of being taken advantage of and made a fool of,” Biden said during his Rose Garden speech at the time. “These junk fees can add hundreds of dollars to family budgets and make it more difficult to pay family bills.”

In Tuesday’s announcement, the FTC said it expects and estimates the junk fee rule will save consumers up to 53 million hours per year searching for the total price of live event tickets and short-term accommodations that the time savings would be equivalent to over $11 billion over the next decade.

Given that this latest junk fee rule was passed on a bipartisan basis, this could improve their chances of staying on the books during the Trump administration. But there were other rules the FTC passed last year — including a ban on noncompete agreements — that were challenged in court by trade groups. If these groups prevail, the question will be whether the FTC chooses to appeal. If this is not the case, the rule in question would not come into force.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Jeanne Sahadi contributed reporting.

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