The price you see is finally the price you’ll pay.
For years, the online booking experience has been a masterclass in deception, a frustrating game of bait-and-switch where the price you are first shown is rarely the price you actually pay. This practice of “drip pricing,” where mandatory fees for everything from “resort services” to “ticket processing” are dripped in at the very end of the checkout process, has been a scourge on consumers.
But the game has just changed. A new federal “junk fee” rule has finally taken effect, forcing a radical transparency on the hotel and live event industries. The era of the surprise fee is over, and understanding how this new rule works is the key to ensuring you are never overcharged again.
1. Mandatory all-in pricing puts an end to surprise resort fees.
The most notorious junk fee has long been the mandatory “resort fee” or “destination fee” charged by hotels. This charge, often for amenities you may never use, was typically hidden until the final payment screen. Under the new rule, any mandatory fee must be included in the total upfront price that the hotel advertises on its website and on third-party booking sites.
This means the price you see when you are comparing hotels is the real price. This simple change puts an end to the deceptive practice of advertising a low nightly rate, only to inflate it with a hidden fee, allowing you to make a true apples-to-apples comparison.
2. You can now accurately compare prices across different platforms.
Previously, comparing the cost of a hotel room or a concert ticket across different websites was nearly impossible. One site might show a lower initial price but add higher fees at the end, while another might have a higher base price but lower fees. This lack of transparency made it incredibly difficult to know which site was actually offering the best deal.
The new all-in pricing mandate solves this problem. Because every site is now required to show the total, final price upfront, you can confidently compare the options and know that you are selecting the genuinely cheapest one. It restores the power of price comparison to the consumer.
3. The rule makes deceptive “drip pricing” illegal.
Drip pricing is the broader term for slowly revealing mandatory fees throughout the booking process. You click on a $150 hotel room, and on the next page, you see taxes added. On the final page, a $40 resort fee suddenly appears. This tactic is designed to create “sunk cost” momentum, making you more likely to complete the purchase because you’ve already invested time in the process.
The new rule effectively outlaws this practice for mandatory fees. The total cost, excluding only standard government taxes, must be the most prominently displayed price. This prevents companies from luring you in with a low price and then trapping you with hidden charges.
4. This forces long-overdue transparency in concert ticket sales.
The live event ticketing industry is another major offender when it comes to junk fees. A concert ticket advertised at $80 could easily end up costing $120 after a slew of “service fees,” “facility fees,” and “processing fees” are added on at the end. The new rule applies directly to these companies as well.
Ticketmaster, StubHub, and other sellers must now include all of their mandatory fees in the initial price shown to the customer. This transparency finally allows concertgoers to see the true cost of attending an event from the very beginning, preventing the sticker shock that has become synonymous with buying tickets.
5. You can file a complaint for non-compliance to get a refund.
This rule has teeth. If you encounter a website or company that is not complying with the all-in pricing mandate—for instance, if they surprise you with a mandatory fee at the end of the checkout process—you can take action. You can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is responsible for enforcing the rule.
This not only helps to hold non-compliant companies accountable but can also be the basis for demanding a refund of the improperly disclosed fee. Knowing your rights under this new rule empowers you to challenge deceptive pricing and get your money back when you are overcharged.
6. It eliminates the ambiguity of hidden “service fees.”
The term “service fee” has long been a vague catch-all that companies use to pad their profits without providing any clear value in return. Under the new rule, if a service fee is mandatory to complete the purchase, it can no longer be hidden. It must be incorporated into the upfront price.
This forces companies to be more honest about their pricing structure. They can no longer use a generic, undefined fee to obscure the true cost of their product. This clarity allows you to better understand what you are paying for and decide if the total price is worth it.
7. The rule applies to all forms of advertising.
The requirement for all-in pricing is not limited to just the company’s website. It applies to all forms of advertising and marketing. If a hotel runs a social media ad or a billboard promoting a certain nightly rate, that rate must include all mandatory fees. This prevents companies from using deceptive advertising to lure customers in with a price that is not actually available.
This comprehensive approach ensures that the price you see is consistent, whether you are on a booking site, the company’s homepage, or looking at an advertisement. It creates a more honest and transparent marketplace for consumers from the very first point of contact.
8. This change empowers you to budget with much greater accuracy.
One of the most practical benefits of the new junk fee rule is that it allows you to budget for your travel and entertainment with much greater confidence. You no longer have to guess how much a hotel or a concert ticket will really cost after all the mysterious fees are added in. The price you see is the price that will be charged to your card.
This makes it much easier to plan your vacation or night out without the fear of a nasty surprise on your credit card statement. It brings a level of predictability to your discretionary spending that simply did not exist before.
9. It fundamentally shifts the balance of power back to you.
For too long, the pricing game has been rigged in favor of large corporations that use psychological tricks and hidden fees to extract more money from consumers. The junk fee rule is a significant step in rebalancing that power dynamic. It puts the onus on companies to be transparent and honest in their pricing from the outset.
By giving you the full picture upfront, the rule empowers you to make informed, rational decisions based on real costs. It restores integrity to the marketplace and ensures that your purchasing power is based on clear information, not on a company’s ability to deceive you